Duty of the Heart
by Reiya Wakayama
Summary: AU, slash, A/M, Merlin is the new guy on the police force in Camelot and has just been assigned as Arthur's new partner. Follow them through some of their cases as they become even closer than intended.
1. Case 1: Death of a Sorceress

**Title:** Duty of the Heart

**Disclaimer:** Merln is owned by the BBC and other associated parties. I do not make any profit from this story and the plot is purely fiction.

**Summary:** AU, slash, A/M, Merlin is the new guy on the police force in Camelot and has just been assigned as Arthur's new partner. Follow them through some of their cases as they become even closer than intended.

**Warnings:** violence, kidnapping, slash, sex, gore, racism against druids (not me), torture, drugging, murder, bondage, hurt/comfort,

**Pairings:** ArthurxMerlin, GwenxLancelot (Only mentioned in passing)

Author's Note: I have gathered a few of these plots from other sources, but though I won't say what sources, know that they are there. Also know that, although I may have borrowed a few ideas, I don't gain anything from them. So no flaming about how I stole a plot from this book or that movie, etc.

xXx

_Case 1. Death of a Sorceress._

All sound tuned out as he focused on the papers in front of him. Never let it be said that Arthur Pendragon, son of Commissioner Uther Pendragon, didn't do any paper work. Though he would say one thing, he hated doing it and wish for a distraction every time.

This was exactly what he got this time. In stormed Morgana, half-sister and closest friend, her face set in annoyed lines. Gwen followed cautiously behind, trying to stay out of the line of fire. "Arthur." She called out loudly, not even caring about the others around her and that she already had his attention.

"What is it now Morgana?" He demanded tiredly. She'd just come from Uther's office which could only mean one thing.

"I want you to try and talk some _sense_ into your father. He just won't listen to me, no matter what I say or how many years I've worked here." She shot heavy glares at his closed office door down at the other end of the hall.

"You think he'll listen to me any better? I'd have better luck getting a pinhole at the shooting range. [A/N: All shots hitting the same point like a pinhole.] He continued to work as she paced his office. One of the benefits of working here for so long was that he now had his own office; well it was his own until Lance came back from paid medical leave.

Finally, she sat down with a huff. Gwen, a relived expression on her face, followed suit and sat down next to her. "So, did you hear the news?"

"Hmm, no what?" He asked, signing a sheet than grabbing the next in line. He was a great multi-tasker.

"We're getting a new recruit. From up north, I believe he's from Ealdor's police force. Wonder what he'll look like." She thought aloud, but he was ignoring her, tuning everything out as he rushed to finish his last report. With a sigh, he sat back, stretching the cramping muscles in his hand.

"Are you even listening to me?" She asked him, voice annoyed.

"For the most part." He paused as he heard the tell-tale sound of the intercom coming on.

"All personnel present, report to the staff room." His father's monotone voice echoed down the slightly empty halls. Most were out on duty with calls, others not coming in until the next shift. A few, like Lance, were out sick or worse. This meant that those that gathered only made the room slightly cramped: about fifteen people in total, not counting Uther or the new arrival.

The soft chatter stopped abruptly as the door opened and in walked Uther. Another male, slightly shorter than the man before him, shadowed his steps. Both of their faces were composed as the headed for the front of the room.

Arthur and the two women didn't get a good look until he was in front of them. He was tall, but thin though he looked to have some lean muscle on him. His ink black hair was slightly wind swept and damp from the storm that was going on outside. His eyes were a dark blue, though the slight shadowing under his eyes made them look even brighter. He was pale too, his skin slightly translucent under the harsh glare of florescent lighting. With his clothing consisting of a white shirt and black slacks, he looked like, well like a very thin penguin. The clothing didn't do anything but make him look tired and washed out. Compared to their slightly less formal dress which had some color in it, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Uther turned to look at them all, hard eyes scanning over the faces of men and women alike before resting on Arthur's face last and longest. Finally he looked away. "As I'm sure some of you have heard we are getting a new member to our district. This is Merlin Emrys, formally of Ealdor's police force." He waited for the group to quiet down again before continuing. "For now, I'll need someone to give a brief tour, but I will later look into who he will be partnered with. I'll inform everyone before the end of our shift." With a sharp nod, he left them in the room.

The door closing was like a signal and the tension seemed to dissipate. Morgana was talking to Merlin first. "So Merlin, what was the weather in Ealdor like?" She asked him.

"Like here only slightly colder." He replied softly, only a slight accent affecting his speech. He seemed to have relaxed slightly, but still looked stiff in his formal wear.

"That's nice. How about Gwen, Arthur, and I give you the grand tour. Once we finish that, we can go out for lunch." He just nodded and followed her out.

Arthur could tell he was indulging her, Morgana had a stubborn streak a mile wide and wouldn't take no for an answer. Apparently Merlin had seen that and decided not to resist her orders. That alone made him smile, though the fact that he'd just noticed his larger than normal ears was an added bonus. This man was certainly an odd looking person, but he looked like someone he could come to like, if they could get him to string more than two words together. Looks like Morgana was going to have to ply her charm. It had worked wonders on shy Gwen and it would work just as well on Merlin.

* * *

They all sat around the circular table, silverware out as they scanned the menus. This was slightly better than what they normally bought, but Merlin wouldn't know that. Arthur wondered if Merlin even liked Chinese food. Pushing that thought aside, he went back to examining his own menu.

Once they all ordered, it descended into an awkward silence for a moment before Morgana went for the kill. "So Merlin, tell us about yourself. What's life in Ealdor like?"

"Ah, I guess it was good there. I'm not to…uh sure since I spent most of my time, well…working. Never really had much of a social life. There was Will and Freya, my mates, but that's about it." As he spoke, the accent seemed to disappear slightly.

"That's nice. Any siblings? What about any family here?" Morgana seemed to have an endless arsenal of questions to shot at the poor man, and Arthur was starting to feel sorry for him.

"No siblings and my Mother. Uh, I believe my uncle Gaius live pretty close to here, just outside of the city." It looked like Morgana's charm was working; the man seemed less tense, his shoulders relaxing.

Before Morgana could throw out another question, the food arrived and they spent a few minutes in silence as they ate. It was a comfortable silence, as if they'd all been friends for years instead of only having just met Merlin.

Finally Arthur looked up from his plate, most of it cleaned. He watched Gwen and Morgana eat, their food disappearing just as fast as his was. You learned to eat fast on the police force, never knowing when the next call would come and you would need to run. He turned to watch Merlin, the man's head bent down as he picked at his food. It was barely even touched, and the slightly green cast to Merlin's face meant that no more would be eaten.

"Merlin?" He asked, fearing something was off with the food.

The paler man looked up, pupils blown and glazed, his face still sickly with a slight sheen of sweat covering it. "I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought. I…I think I need to go to the rest room." He stood abruptly, shoving his chair back as he walked towards the restrooms at a fast pace.

Morgana raised an immaculately plucked eyebrow at him, the message clear: go after him and see what's wrong.

He nodded and followed at a slower pace, his steps trailing the other man's path. He stood in front of the door for a second before opening it a few inches. The unmistakable sound of someone heaving up their stomach reached his ears and he winced in sympathy. Closing the door, he flagged down a waiter. "Can I have a napkin please?" She nodded and handed it to him, keeping the silverware.

Nodding in thanks, he walked back to the restroom, finally going into room. It sounded as if Merlin had stopped for a few minutes. Stopping at the sink, he ran the cloth under the cold water, letting it get soaked, than ringing it out somewhat.

Heading for the open stall, he saw Merlin bent over the porcelain bowl, chest heaving, and his shirt darkened in some places from sweat. Taking a step forward, he placed the cool cloth on the back of his neck, leaving it there as he squatted. "So what's the matter with you?" He asked him.

"I guess it was worse than I thought." Was his muffled reply, his voice roughened and husky from vomiting?

"What do you mean by that? You sick or something?" He asked him.

"I wasn't feeling too well this morning, but I thought it was just a cold. Just took a couple of aspirin and left. Didn't…want to…be late for my first…day…" He chest spasmed and heaved as the rest of the little he had eaten came up.

Arthur rubbed his back as the man panted. "Looks like you either got a stomach virus or the flu. Take your pick." He gave a small sigh. "I'll get one of the girls to call in and tell them you're sick. For now though, let's get you out of here and home." The man just nodded, letting Arthur haul him to his unsteady feet.

Taking the cloth, he helped the man over to the sink, wetting it and handing it to him. He gave a weak smile before wiping his mouth on it. Leaning down shakily, he rinsed his mouth out.

By the time he finished and they had reached the door, Morgana and Gwen were already waiting outside. "Well?" Morgana demanded worry slightly hidden.

"Well, apparently, this idiot decided to come to work sick after only popping a couple of pills." Arthur replied, ignoring the soft _'prat' _the other man said as he leaned on him. "I need one of you to tell Uther what's happened; I'll take this bag of bones home."

Gwen nodded and grabbed her keys. Stopping at the front of the restaurant, she paid for their meal quickly and then was gone, jumping in her car. "I'll come help you." Morgana told him. He just nodded; it was no use to disobey her.

Helping the paler man through the restaurant, they found Arthur's car and piled in with Merlin in the back lying down and Morgana in front with Arthur. Turning around briefly, she asked him, "Alright, where to?" Merlin laid there, an arm thrown over his face as he spoke softly, giving directions to his flat.

By the time they reached his flat, Merlin looked pale and exhausted. Arthur half carried him up the short flight of stairs, holding him up as Morgana opened his door. Hauling him into the room, they followed his still soft directions to the bedroom.

Setting him down on the bed, Arthur went to the bathroom, searching for more ibuprofen. He heard Morgana's muffled order to strip and when he walked back into the room with the pills and a glass of water, the man was stripped down to his boxers and was being tucked under the duvet. A pale blush spreading across his face and chest the only indication of discomfort though where he got the energy to blush was a mystery.

"Here." He handed the items to him and watched him knock them back.

The silence was breached as Morgana's cell phone went off. She picked it up and listened to the person on the other end. Giving a sharp nod, she thanked whoever it was that called. "That was Gwen. Uther's been informed and says for Merlin to get over it soon so that he can get to work. He also said he'll delay picking his partner until he comes back." She looked at Merlin, who only nodded weakly, lying back against the mountain of pillows behind him.

She gave a pointed look to Arthur. "I have a message for you too. He says you are to stay here and help him get better. Note that this isn't his exact wording, but that man is too blunt for his own good." She told him, annoyed, but didn't tell him to not follow the order. Only his father would think taking care of the new guy would help better him.

He let out a small sigh and turned to look at Merlin. Sometime during their brief conversation, he'd gone asleep, he face slack and peaceful. "Well, it can't be too bad. A few days at most." He lied slightly. Most likely it would be boredom with nothing to do. "Since I'm stuck here for now can you stop by my place and pick up a change of clothes for me and my mp3 player." Morgana nodded, looking much put upon at the moment, but she didn't say anything else.

Pecking him on the cheek, she left, shutting the door quietly behind her as Arthur followed her into the living room to look around. It was slightly bare, feeling unlived, but that was to be expected since he'd probably just moved in. There was a couch, a coffee table, plus the TV, stereo system and DVD player. They were all slightly older models than what was out at the moment. The only thing that looked like he'd spent any amount of time on was his book shelf which took up a whole wall, though it was a small wall.

Walking over to it, he ran a quick eye over the spines, scanning titles. Some were histories, others text books, mainly on astrology or horticulture or herbs. There were a few of the classics, some Shakespeare, and even some books on ancient science or alchemy. Deciding to read while he waited for Morgana to get back with his things, he grabbed one of the Shakespeare plays, Romeo and Juliet, off of the shelf. He needed a good laugh and why not a tragedy to blow off some steam.

* * *

Three hours later found him on his third tragedy, Othello than Hamlet, with Morgana having already stopped by. He was nearly half way through Hamlet when he heard the sound of footsteps in the hall to Merlin's bedroom and looked up in time to see the other man walk in.

He looked better for the sleep. Some of the darkness under his eyes had faded away and he didn't look so sickly. It was certainly a vast improvement. Then of course he realized that Merlin was still in his boxers at the same moment he realized that he wasn't alone in the room.

"W-what are you still doing here?" Merlin stammered, face flushing slightly.

Arthur held up his hands open, a sign of piece. "Don't bite my head off. Direct order from the Commissioner. I'm here to make sure you eat properly and don't end up drowning yourself or something along those lines. He wants you healthy and able to work."

Merlin let out a breath than turned around and walked back down the hall. He reappeared a few minutes later with a pair of sweat pants on. He shuffled over to the fridge in the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water he shuffled over to where Arthur sat and slumped down onto the other end of the couch. Turning his head slightly, he examined what was in Arthur's hands. "You read Shakespeare?" He seemed genuinely surprised by that.

"Yes, though usually to just laugh at the tragedies. It's amazing what they thought was appropriate during their time. Though it still hasn't changed that much since then has it?"

Merlin just groaned and flung an arm over his face. "Please, I'm too sick for philosophical debates right now." Arthur let out a snort of laughter. "So besides laughing at tragedies, what else do you read?" Merlin asked him, still covering his face.

"Uh, some sci-fi, a little fantasy. Medieval histories are somewhat interesting. What with all the knights and dragons and rescuing maidens." Merlin gave a snort of laughter at that but didn't comment.

There was a few minutes of comfortable silence. Finally Arthur got up the nerve to ask. "Why did you join the force?" He wondered if Merlin would answer. He knew that for many officers it was a very personal reason and one they might not like to share.

Merlin did seem to be one of those people. "I was in my second year of high school when I decided. My dad had gone out to the store late one night and walked in the middle of a robbery. The guy shot him without even blinking and fled. They never caught him. It was pretty simple after that to figure out what I wanted to do. I guess mainly I joined to try and find him." Merlin's face look tired and resigned, but he didn't look like he was about to curl into a ball crying so Arthur left it at that.

He wasn't expecting a similar questioned fired back at him. "So what about you? What made the mighty Arthur Pendragon become an officer?"

He answered voice flat. "My father." Merlin glanced at him, confused. "My father's the Commissioner, though at the time he was only a sergeant. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps. I was too much of a coward to say no, and by the time I'd gotten the courage up, I'd decided I liked being an officer so I stayed. Not much of sob story, but it has its moments." He joked, a wry grin gracing his face. Merlin smiled back, but he looked like he was getting ready to fall asleep again.

"Go back to bed. You'll feel better in the morning." Merlin just nodded tiredly, groaning as he pulled himself into a slumped standing position. Arthur listened to him shuffle down the hall and the door closing before he let out a small sigh. Leaning his head back, he stared at the ceiling. He wondered why he had told him so much. Normally, he kept it to a minimum, but Merlin just seemed to make him want to speak, those big blue eyes looking at him, drawing out the words like poison from a wound.

Stopping that train of thought and shoving it to the back of his mind, he went back to the play. Might as well finish it now before he was needed.

* * *

By the time Merlin woke again some hours later, Arthur had finished the play, cleaned up the place a little, explored the rest of his flat, and had some chicken soup on the stove heating up. He knew it looked like he was very domestic, but the simple truth was that he had learned early on in life to take care of himself. When your father dedicated his life to work, he spent little time teaching you the basics of life.

He heard Merlin walking down the hall and turned to lean back against the counter. Seeing him a second time, he looked a lot better. The shadows under his eyes were nearly gone, and his skin seemed to glow with a healthy sheen. His eyes were clear too.

"So, I'm guessing you feel better?" He asked Merlin as he stopped in the doorway to yawn and stretch, arms reaching above his head as his jaw opened to show white teeth and a pale pink tongue. Arthur took in the sight of lean muscle and stretching pale skin. A light dusting of dark hair graced his lower abdomen, leading down in a line below his waistline. He certainly looked healthy, though slightly on the thin side.

Merlin didn't notice his staring, too busy going over to the fridge to rummage through it until he brought out two beers. Handing one to Arthur, he nodded. "Yes, must have been a one day thing." Opening it, he took a gulp of the murky fluid. Sniffing at the air, he smiled. "That smells good. Is it ready yet?" He asked at the same time his stomach growled aloud.

"Yes, help yourself." Merlin opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a couple of bowls. Handing one to Arthur, he turned to the stove to serve himself. When both bowls were full, they sat in the living room, eating in silence as the TV showed them the news. It was the only thing on at the moment since he hadn't gotten his cable hooked up yet.

It was nearly midnight by the time the TV was turned off. Merlin turned to Arthur. "Um, I have a spare room you can use if want or the couch if you don't want the room."

"Aw, I can't stay in your room, too bad." He gave a wink and a snort of laughter when Merlin flushed slightly. "I'll take the spare room. I don't feel like waking up with knots in my back." With a small wave, he walked past the bewildered Merlin, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Merlin lay in his bed again, mind going over the scene from earlier. He knew Arthur was joking, but the way he'd said it had almost sounded like he'd meant it. That seemed absurd. Even if Arthur liked men, why go for someone like himself.

Merlin had never really liked how he'd grown into himself. Too tall, too skinny with his large ears and extremely high cheek bones made him feel like a freak show. That and the fact that he'd spent most of his teen years being laughed at for being so clumsy, his constant growth spurts hadn't helped him gain any coordination, had left him with a slight self-esteem issue which he'd never truly gotten over.

When all this was coupled with his fresh out of high school discovery that he'd somehow gone from liking women to liking men had left him slightly off balance for a while. It hadn't been until he'd met Will and Freya that'd he'd started to change for the better. He'd even dated Will for a few months before they both broke it off to be friends instead.

They'd both been sad when he'd transferred, but he'd needed to. He'd told them about his gift about a year after meeting them. At the time it had been small, barely even there, but a few months ago, he'd woken from a dead sleep sweating with half the objects floating around his room with his eyes glowing gold. He'd called Gaius; his uncle had helped out with this before.

The man had told him to transfer to Camelot. When asked why, he'd said that he would explain later. So following his order, he'd put in a transfer order, explained everything to the two of them, and two weeks later was packed and headed for Camelot.

The rest of the time up till now had been spent mostly at Gaius's place, working on control. Apparently he'd finally 'grown' into his powers or something like that. Just what he needed, his powers finally hitting puberty.

He'd barely had time to even unpack and get settled in. He wasn't really surprised that he'd gotten sick. He'd been running himself ragged for a while now and the many sleepless nights added to a somewhat poor diet and over use of magic had decided to combine into the flu to make him even more miserable.

The _only_ reason he'd gotten up this morning was that he'd needed to report into the Commissioner and get a partner. He officially started work tomorrow.

That train of thought had him wondering who Arthur had for a partner. Was it man or woman, someone who complimented his personality and could work with him definitely, but wouldn't take any of his crap? Whoever that person was would probably be seen as a god send, if what he'd seen so far was any indication.

Sighing, he turned over, trying to get some sleep. It was going to be a long day and he was going to need it.

* * *

Merlin stood in front of Uther's desk, trying to comprehend what Uther had just told him. Arthur stood next to him, his whole body stiff as disbelief rolled off him in waves.

"You're kidding right? You can't be serious. Lance has only been out of work for two weeks and you putting the new guy off on me."

Uther just stared back at him, face calm and composed as he waited for his son to finish ranting. "As I recall, Lancelot will be out for another four months as he goes through physical therapy for that shattered kneecap. You will need a partner until then. Emrys will take his place until he returns and then if you want you can either have Lancelot for a partner or you may continue with Emrys as your partner. Until then, you will stop this senseless complaining and deal with it. Dismissed." Uther turned away from them, dismissal clear even if he had said nothing.

Growling, Arthur stormed out of the room and down the hallway to where his office was nestled between two others. Merlin followed silently, still in a slight shock at what had happened as his mind sorted through everything. He hadn't been expecting a warm welcome from his new partner, whom ever it was to be, but he hadn't expected this out right annoyance, as if he was unwanted burden.

Merlin felt his cheeks heat up in anger and was about to rip Arthur a new one, when he paused, watching the other man stare out of a window. The anger had faded from his face, left with a hard look in his eyes. Merlin jumped when a voice sounded in his ear. "Arthur's not mad at you, he just hates when his father forces him to do things instead of asking. He'll get over it in a few minutes." He turned to stare at Morgana, the pale woman shadowed by Gwen who stood there smiling at him.

"Oh, uh hi. Sorry about…the other day." He scratched at his head sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. You couldn't help getting sick. Let me introduce myself properly this time. I am Morgana Le Fay, adoptive sister to yon sulking child over there. This here is Guinevere or Gwen Smith. We're partners for the moment since our original partners both decided to go on vacation for a few months, though they did deserve it." She smiled at that, Gwen copying her.

He waved to Gwen and was about to say hi when they were interrupted. "I'm not a sulking child, you harpy." Arthur had come up behind him and seemed to tower over him, even though Merlin was slightly taller.

"Well than if you were not sulking, what would you call it then? While you're at it, why not apologizing to Merlin here for taking it out on him." They stood there glaring at each other, the war of wills going on for about a minute before Arthur finally looked away defeated.

"Fine." He sighed out. Turning away, he called over his shoulder. "Sorry about that."

She grinned evilly at him, as she looped her arm through his.

"Merlin, get over here."

"Looks like your new partner waits. I'll talk some more with you later." She gave him a little shove in the back towards Arthur's desk, making him stumble. Before he could turn to say anything, he heard the door close shut behind him.

Sighing, he stalked forward until he was in front of Arthur's desk. "So what now?" He asked. He didn't know procedure here and felt out of his depth.

"Now we work on a case. Lance and I were working on this one before he got shot in the knee. I've been so busy working on reports and helping others out with their cases that I've not been able to get anything done with this one." He handed over the manila folder to him, his mind obviously elsewhere as he scribbled down some note.

Taking it, he scanned through the file, reading the case and other information. Turning another page, a picture was dislodged further back and the corner stuck out. Turning to it, he looked the picture over. He swallowed slightly at the sight. Six years as a cop, and he still couldn't get over pictures like this.

The woman's skin was pale, her life blood pooling around her from the gaping wound on her throat. Her body was resting in odd angles, blank staring ayes looking up from a drained face that sat on a broken neck.

Taking a deep breath, he scanned the others quickly, eyeing them for anything someone might miss. Nothing, they were clean. "So who is she?" He finally asked, shutting the folder to block out the pictures.

"Morgause, the daughter of a very wealthy business man. We think she was targeted to get at her father, but he claims he hasn't done any illegal activities and hasn't been contacted by anyone threatening him, or his grandson son. Her son was with her when she was killed, but she hid him at the last moment. We haven't been able to get him to talk, but we're hoping it is just shock."

"So do you want to go talk with them and see if he'll talk?" Merlin asked him.

"Hmm, sure why not. We'll talk to the grandfather after that and see if he's gotten anything new." Arthur stood up and grabbed his coat. They left, leaving the file on the desk.

* * *

"Come on Mordred. You can talk with us. We're not the bad guys here and we're trying to find out who killed your mother, but we can't if you won't talk." Arthur paced the floor, frustration rolling off him as Mordred continued to sit passively in the chair.

Merlin was watching him, just as silent, but Arthur didn't care. This kid needed to say something before the case was shut down.

"Arthur." Merlin called out to him softly. Arthur turned to look at him. "Can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Arthur growled, but nodded, following the other man out.

He turned around to face him. "What?" He demanded, voice harsh with pent up anger.

"First off, stop yelling. Second, let me try and talk with him. Alone."

"Why?" You think you can do any better?" He asked annoyed.

"Well for one thing I won't be yelling at the kid who's just lost his mother and is still grieving for her. Besides, it'll let you go talk with the grandfather and give you time to cool off. Okay?" Arthur stared at him for a few second, sizing him up before nodding. He had a point and he'd never been good at dealing with kids.

"Fine. Go talk with him. I'll be back later." Merlin smiled a little at that, but turned and walked back into the room. Rolling his eyes, he left, grabbing his keys to go to the grandfather's place.

* * *

Merlin sat back down in front of him. Mordred look slightly more relaxed. "Sorry about him. He's not good with kids apparently." Merlin joked softly.

"How long have you two been partners?"

"Actually, I was just assigned to him today. I'm the new guy in the station." He smiled sheepishly.

Mordred just stared at him before he sighed. "I have to ask this, but you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Are you a druid?" Mordred stiffened. "No need to be afraid. I'm not here to persecute you or anything like that." Taking a deep breath, he reached down inside him, tugging at his gift. When he opened his eyes, he knew they'd changed color. "I'm not a druid, but I'm still a magic user."

Mordred stared at him in wonder as he let the magic fade away and his eyes shifted. "How did you know?" He asked slightly breathless.

Merlin pointed. "Your mark. Few children would have a tattoo and even fewer would have that particular one. I knew some of the druids back home. They helped me out a couple of times. But enough of this. I know it's painful, but you need to tell us what happened, Mordred. If not, we won't be able to find your mother's killer."

"I'm not in shock; I just thought that he wouldn't believe me when I told." Mordred said softly, staring at him.

"Then I'm guessing this wasn't just a normal killing?" He asked. Mordred shook his head no. "Then start at the beginning. Tell me what you remember." Mordred nodded and shut his eyes, leaning further back into the chair.

"We'd just gone to dinner and she decided to walk back home instead of taking the car. She always did hate being driven around. It was dark and I couldn't see that well, but I saw them. Two, waiting on the corner ahead. They knew we were coming that way, but I don't know how. I think she saw them too because she grabbed my shoulder and then shoved me behind some garbage bins in a side ally. I heard her tell me to be quiet and to stay still and I obeyed, for once in my life I obeyed and then they came at her." He stopped for a breath, voice shaky and betraying his earlier statement about not being affected by this.

"She held them off for a few minutes. She'd always been good at shields, but she used most of her power to hide me and they got in her guard. They…they slit her throat while one of them held her up in the air a few feet. I tried to help, but I couldn't get past the barrier. I ran once they left. I ran all the way home to grandfather and told him what happened. He said to stay quiet about it when the police arrived, that they wouldn't believe me or understand." Merlin nodded, standing up and walking over to the small child.

He was only ten or eleven and had seen so much that could help them out. He wrapped his arms around thin shoulders, pulling in the shaking child as he finally cried for a lost childhood. "I've been dreaming a lot lately. About what happened, but grandfather just tells me to leave him alone. I don't like it, but they won't stop." He sniffed softly.

"You know, my father was killed when I was in high school. I cried and had bad dreams too. It's nothing to be ashamed of Mordred. My mother helped me through it by talking with me, but since you don't have anyone, I'll talk with you. Mordred, I want you to know that if you need help, all you have to do is call. Even if it's just someone to talk to. Just call." He felt him nod against his chest.

They both jumped when they heard a door slam closed. A few seconds later, Arthur came running in, out of breath. "Merlin, grab the kid. We need to get out of here."

"What? Why?" He asked him, glancing down at Mordred.

"The grandfather's dead, found him in the middle of the study. Place was ransacked, they must have been looking for something." He explained.

Merlin looked at Mordred. "Has your grandfather or mother acquired anything new lately, a book or some strange item that felt weird?" He asked, ignoring Arthur's impatient growl. Mordred nodded. "Where?" Mordred grabbed his hand, taking him over to a small book shelf hidden in a shadowed corner.

Most of the stuff was knick knacks, but there sitting in the middle shelf was a small crystal, wrapped in gold and silver wire. It had small symbols etched into its surface. "Figures." He muttered under his breath. "Do you mind if we bring it with us?" He asked Mordred. He shook his head. Merlin sighed, not wanting to touch it, but reached out anyways. The moment his flesh touched it, he felt something brush across his conscious, as his arm started to tingle.

"Alright, let's go. We need to get you to the station to keep you safe." Mordred nodded, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door, as if knowing he needed the help. It was taking most of his concentration to keep the crystal at bay.

* * *

They made it to the station without incident. "I'll go talk with Uther and have someone sent over to the grandfather's place. You take the kid and the stone to the office." Merlin let Mordred drag him along.

Arthur watched them for a second before turning and walking to Uther's door. He didn't even knock, just walked in. Uther looked up, annoyance written all over his face as he opened his mouth to chaste the intruder, but stopped when he saw who it was. "Arthur, what is it?"

"We've got another murder with my case and the kid was brought here. He told Merlin that his grandfather recently acquired some sort of crystal-like thing. We think someone's killing them off to get it. The grandfather's place was ransacked too." He reported, keeping his eyes on Uther.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose softly. "Has the boy said anything else regarding his mother?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I was too busy trying to get him out of there to see if Merlin was able to get him talking." He replied.

"Good choice. For now, we'll keep him here until we can find a place to keep him safe. I'm making you and Merlin his bodyguards until this case is solved, understood?" He asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Then go talk to your partner and see what he knows. Also, try and figure out what this stone is." He nodded and left, closing the door silently behind him. Sighing he leaned against the door for a second, letting it sink in. This case had just gotten that much more complicated and out of control. Shaking his head, he walked to his office.

Standing in the door way, he observed Mordred talking quietly with Merlin. He was rather animated and seemed happier than normal for someone who had just lost his grandfather. Merlin on the other hand seemed more subdued. His gaze lingered on the stone on front of him, incased in an evidence bag. He looked tired, like he'd just run a couple miles.

Mordred handed him a soda from the mini-fridge he'd just raided, which was Arthur's. "Thanks." His voice was kind of horse as he thanked him.

"Are you getting sick again?" He asked from the door way, watching as they both jumped.

Merlin choked a little on his drink, sputtering as he cleared his wind pipe. "No. Just tired all of a sudden. I'll be fine. Just need an energy boost." He took another sip.

Arthur nodded, but didn't ask anymore. He walked over to where they sat. "Uther's sending people over to his grandfather's place. We're to keep short stuff here until they can find a safe place for him to stay. We're also to be his body guards until this case closes." Mordred glared up at him, not liking being called short.

"Alright." He paused for a minute thinking. "We could always take him to one of our places."

Arthur cut him off. "No that will be the first place they start looking. Hang on; you said yesterday you had an uncle out in the country. That would be a good place to hide him." He stopped when he saw Merlin shaking his head.

"No, that will be the first place they look for me. I've spent most of the past two months over there getting things sorted out. I also don't want him to get involved in this. My place would probably be best. They won't know I'm a cop since I just started today and I'm a new face around here so no one will know me too well." He explained to him.

"I guess." Arthur compromised. 'So what is this?" He held up the plastic bag, the crystal shining dully in the lights.

"Um, well…it's hard to explain. In the old religion, what the people practiced before Christianity and the other major religions took over, it was said that many practiced magic. I'm not sure if that's true, but some still practice today and this stone is thought to be sort of an amplifier. You know…make you stronger, that sort of thing. I don't know if it's true or not, but if someone believed it to be true, I'm sure they'd be willing to kill to get their hands on it."

"All for a piece of rock and some wire. Can you read what's written on it?" He asked him.

"No, I never learned how to read druidic. My uncle might know a few words, but that's about it." He answered, eyeing the stone warily.

"How do you know this kind of stuff?" Arthur asked him.

"My mother and uncle like to read about these kinds of things. You pick up a few things after a while." He told him, voice wry.

Arthur nodded. "I'll tell Uther the plan. You get everything we'll need for the case and meet me in the garage." He left, leaving Merlin to pack.

* * *

Two days later, in Merlin's flat, they still had nothing. No clues, no leads, no notes or phone calls. Too make it worse; they were all stuck inside, since they didn't want to draw any attention to themselves just yet.

It was night and Arthur and Merlin were sitting on the couch watching the news as Mordred slept in the spare room. Finally, Merlin let out a sigh. "You know, you don't have to sleep on the couch again. My bed is large enough for both of us; you can sleep in there too."

"I'm fine, Merlin. We've already gone through this already so _shut up_." Arthur told him, not even taking his eyes from the screen. He ignored Merlin's comment about stubborn prats and kept watching.

He wouldn't have minded sleeping in the same bed as Merlin, but he wasn't so sure he could keep his hands to himself and he didn't want to scare Merlin off. The past two day had been kind of fun. He'd learned a lot about Merlin, and even if they argued more than he and Lance did, he was still a surprisingly good friend. He didn't want to ruin that by making some moves on the brunette.

Merlin stood with a huff. "Well, if you change your mind, the door's unlocked." He turned and left, Arthur watching him leave. Merlin had no idea what his offer would be seen as if it had been any other person. This was why Arthur didn't take him up on it. He wasn't going to take advantage of someone else's ignorance of his sexuality. Sighing, he shut the TV off and rolled up in his blanket.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself Merlin?" He asked him for the third time.

"Yes Arthur. I know how to take care of myself and others. I haven't spent the last six years as a cop to not know." He turned a glare on him and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright. I'll be back in an hour. Don't let the shrimp over there mess with you too much." He turned and left. Merlin followed and locked the door behind him.

Mordred turned to Merlin. "Why does he keep calling me short? It's getting annoying."

"Well if his relationship with Morgana is anything to go by, I'd say that's his way of showing feeling. He's not trying to be mean, just ignore it if you don't like it. For now, let's get some lunch." Mordred nodded, running to beat him to the kitchen.

They'd been in there making grilled cheese sandwiches when he heard a knock at the door. "Probably Arthur. Knowing him, he forgot his keys or something." Mordred grinned at that, but continued to watch the cooking bread.

He headed for the door when there was another knock. "Yes, yes, I'm coming. What is it Arthur…" He stared down the barrel of a gun. "Shit, Mordred, run!" He screamed out, as he dived for the man.

There was a crash in the kitchen, but was too busy keeping his guy occupied to pay any attention. He kept the gun pointed up, a will of strength between them as they shoved against each other. "Enough, Mr. Emrys. Not unless you want the boy killed." Merlin froze, feeling something prodding him in the back. He turned and saw a struggling Mordred in the grips of another man.

"Good, now you will put your hands behind you back, palms out, slowly now." He followed directions and felt hand cuffs click into place. "Now this will hurt, but it's the only way to keep you quiet." He didn't have time to answer as something was slammed into his neck sending him pitching forward. The world blacked out.

* * *

Arthur walked up the sidewalk towards Merlin's flat. Bag of groceries in one arm and supplies from Morgana in the other, he didn't notice anything wrong outside the flat. Climbing the stairs he smelled something burning, but shoved the panic aside. Probably one of the other tenants had burnt something.

It wasn't until he got to the hall Merlin's door opened up into, that he saw the black smoke curling out of the open door. Dropping everything, he ran inside, searching for both males as he ran to see what was burning. In the kitchen, a blackened piece of bread and cheese sat on the burner. Turning it off, he put it in the sink and ran the water over it.

Glancing around, he saw a shattered plate, the bag of bread and an overturned stool just in the kitchen. The rest of the flat wasn't so bad. 'Merlin must have been surprised at the door then.' He thought to himself, going to stand in the door way.

There were a few signs of a scuffle, some scuff marks on the wooden floor of the hallway. Sighing, he went behind the door and pulled out the small bug there. He'd put it there last night, a just in case measure.

Taking out the small chip in it, he hooked it up to a video camera, playing the footage in it. Mostly it was people walking down the hallway, setting off its motion detector. The last two video clips were of him, and Merlin's attackers. Watching through the clip, he memorized the man's face that Merlin fought. Wincing at the blow he saw, he watched them pick up and drag Merlin down the hall, Mordred being carried over a shoulder followed behind them.

Shutting it off, he dialed his phone. "Morgana, I need a favor." He told her bluntly.

"What is it, Arthur?" She asked him.

"Merlin and the kid have been nabbed and I need you to help me find someone." He heard a small muffled conversation and then an okay before she hung up. Ten minutes later Morgana was walking in, Gwen in tow, each carrying a laptop.

"Where to start?" She asked him, an evil smirk on her face.

* * *

Arthur stared up at the old mansion. It spoke of money, old money. For someone who dealed in antique and ancient items, this guy sure had lousy security. Edward Ellington, the sole heir to the Ellington fortune was a collector. One who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted. Even kidnap a cop and a child.

They'd found out who he was through the man Arthur had gotten on videotape. One of Edward's cronies and paid thugs. He'd certainly squealed when Arthur started to lay into him. The man had a rap sheet a mile long, and had begged for a plea bargain.

So Arthur stood out here, having ignored Uther's direct order to not go after Merlin. Shifting slightly, he scanned the area, and then made a run for it. As he thought, the servant's door was unguarded. Amateurs. Slipping through, he felt his way along in the near darkness, listening for voices.

He'd traveled up two flights of stairs before he heard a slight scuffle in one of the rooms. He could hear Mordred yelling at someone before a door was slammed. Opening the door slightly, he looked in. He could just see Mordred, the boy was turned towards him, face a mask of concern for something he couldn't see. He guessed it was Merlin.

Opening the door more, he slipped into the shadowed alcove, hidden mostly by a tapestry over the front. Mordred's back was to him now, but he could see Merlin. He hung in the middle of the room, arms cuffed and held above his head by a rope that connected to a large hook there. He looked alright, only a few bruises starting to show on his pale skin.

Mordred was shaking him, trying to get him to wake up. Stealing out of the alcove, he whistled softly, trying to get Mordred's attention. The boy spun, looking for the noise. Holding a finger to his lips, he beckoned him over.

Mordred ran over, throwing himself at Arthur, burying his face in Arthur's chest. He hugged him close, trying to sooth him without speaking aloud. Leaning down he whispered into his ear. "What did they do to Merlin?" He asked him.

"They knocked him out. He came to in the car and they stuck him with a needle full of some clear fluid. He hasn't moved since." His voice was just as soft.

"Alright, I'll find a way to get him down, and then we'll leave here…" He felt the boy stiffen in his arms. He looked down, but the boy was watching the unconscious Merlin. "What is it?"

"Merlin." His voice was soft, scared.

"Don't worry, I'll get him down." He stepped around Mordred's still form.

"No, don't go near him." He whispered to him.

"How else am I supposed to get him down?" He reached out, hand reaching up to grab one of Merlin's arms. He pulled back with a hiss as something shocked his hand, making the whole arm go numb.

"I told you not to." Mordred said softly, eyes still on the limp man.

Arthur strode over to him. "Why? What's wrong with me touching him?" Mordred just blinked and pointed. Taking a second look at the paler man, he saw what Mordred had meant. The air around Merlin was shimmering, as if putting off some sort of heat source. He could feel it now. The air was becoming charged with something. "What's going on with him?" He asked Mordred.

"He's mad." Arthur turned to look down at him. "He's losing control. We need to stay behind him or else he may do something he'll regret." Arthur just nodded, not understanding a single thing the kid had uttered. "Look."

He turned and saw why his eyes had gone huge. The air around Merlin had started to shine pale gold. As they watched, his eyes opened and Arthur had to resist the urge to run at what he saw. His eyes were no longer blue, but a blazing golden hue.

His body straightened and as he watched, the metal cuffs seemed to glow white hot and melt off his wrists. His arms dropped to hang there, his feet already carrying him towards the door. It opened on its own, the bang echoing down the stone hallway.

Following behind him, they heard the sound of running feet coming towards them. Merlin threw the two guards against the wall, not even missing a beat. Arthur continued to follow, his mind racing as he tried to comprehend what was going on. If he didn't know better, he'd say Merlin had some sort of power, but that was stupid.

Except that the way Mordred was staring at Merlin in awe and his earlier words had him rethinking that last thought. Deciding to put questions off until later, he picked up Mordred, ignoring his protests as they followed Merlin out of the mansion.

They were deterred at the main door by the security, all pointing large guns at them. Hiding behind a pillar, he waited for the sounds of guns to go off, but when nothing happened he peered around the stone. Out of nowhere, a bunch of vines had appeared, ensnaring the men and wrapping around their guns and clogging them with leaves and stems.

They had been walking for a few minutes, the world around them silent and their progress unhindered when they reached his car parked off in the trees. The next thing he knew, Merlin was a collapsed bag of bones on the ground. Rushing forward, he placed a couple of fingers to his throat, feeling for a pulse. It was there, though slow. His breaths were shallow and he appeared to be unconscious again.

Sighing in relief, he turned to Mordred. "Help me get him in the car. We'll work on a story as to how you two escaped without getting any of us in trouble." Mordred nodded, running to the car to open it as he lifted his dead weight partner off the ground.

* * *

"So you two found the servant's passages and found a way out and happened to stumble across Arthur who had disobeyed a direct order." Uther said this last part turning a knowing eye on Arthur.

All three nodded, keeping to the story. When they'd been asked about the mess in front of the mansion, they'd said they had no idea what had happened. They'd left by then. They knew Uther didn't believe the story, but it was easier than asking certain questions. So he let them off at their word, giving them a few days off.

They now all sat in Merlin's flat, Mordred asleep, head on Merlin's lap as they waited for the adrenalin to wear off. Finally Merlin looked down at Mordred. "I guess I better put him to bed." Arthur just nodded, leaning back against the couch with his eyes shut.

When he walked back in, the couch was empty. "Arthur." He said aloud.

"You, Merlin Emrys, have a lot of explaining to do." Merlin spun, facing Arthur who leaned against the wall.

"Um…well…what do you want answered?" He asked voice nervous as he watched Arthur.

Arthur took a step forward and Merlin took a step back. "Well…for starters, what the hell was it that you did out there?"

"Um…well…you see, I can kind of do magic, but I was born this way." He amended hastily. He held his hands up trying to keep Arthur from getting angry.

"So why didn't you tell me?" He took another step forward, Merlin backed up more.

"Well it's not something you can bring up in casual conversation. 'Oh guess what Arthur, I can do magic, but I'm not insane, so don't put me in a mental institute.' How else would you think I'd have sounded if I'd said anything?" He threw his own question out, cheeks flushed in anger.

Arthur smiled, making Merlin gulp and step back again, Arthur just followed him. "And did you ever think that maybe I might believe you? That maybe I might accept it and not send you to a psyche ward?" He took another step forward, forcing Merlin to step back, his legs bumping into the couch. He just realized that he'd been cornered. He let himself fall onto the cushions with a small bounce, face still tilted up to watch Arthur for any sudden moves.

"How was I supposed to know that? I've only known you for a few days." He argued, though it was a losing battle. Arthur had continued to step forward until he now stood in front of Merlin, staring down at him.

"Fine, I'll give you that. How about we start over? No misunderstandings, no lies. What do you say?" He asked leaning down to look him in the eye. Merlin gulped, feeling his pulse speed up. He nodded slowly. Arthur smiled, all tooth and no comfort. "Good. Then since there are no lies between us let me say one thing." He leaned forward, placing both hands against the back of the couch caging him in. "There's just something about you Merlin that I can't put my finger on. Though I certainly would like to try." He smiled again. His face inches from Merlin's.

He could see his eyes blow wide at that statement, his throat bob as he gulped. He couldn't hold back anymore, pressing his lips against him, feeling the soft texture of Merlin's own lips. A small gasp escaped between them and he took advantage of it, pressing forward, his tongue delving in exploring him. By now he was kneeling on the couch, knees on both sides of Merlin as he straddled his lap.

Merlin's hands had come up to fist in his shirt, holding on for dear life as he decided to either pull him forward or push him away. Arthur's own hands had traveled to fist in his hair, running through the short silky locks

He tugged slightly and Merlin let out a pained hiss: the bruise from being hit with the gun. Pulling back, he looked over his flushed expression, pupils blown wide, mouth hanging open slightly with swollen lips. He took in the still forming bruises, stark against his pale skin. Leaning forward, he ran soft butterfly kisses over them, kissing the hurt away. His hands busy elsewhere, had started to unbutton his shirt, working on the stubborn buttons until his chest stood bare. More bruises adorned his thin chest, the largest starting from his ribcage and spreading down to near his navel.

He worked his way down, kissing each new bruise that appeared to him. He could hear Merlin panting harshly above him, fingers digging into his shoulders that were sure to leave bruises of their own on him.

By the time he finished and came back up, Merlin's eyes were closed. His body trembled slightly as a full body flush worked its way down his chest. He chuckled softly, taking in his euphoric expression. Merlin's eyes slowly opened up, revealing a thin line of gold around the outer edge of his iris. "So, looks like I can make you lose control of yourself, huh?" He asked smugly.

"Oh, shut up you prat." His voice came out gravelly.

"I'd rather be shutting _you_ up." He leaned in and kissed him, distracting him as he maneuvered them on the couch until he was crouched over Merlin's splayed body. He ran teasing fingers along his ribs, counting them as his hand traveled up his chest. Finding what he sought, he gave the pink bud an experimental tweak, watching as Merlin's body arched off the couch into the touch.

Smiling against his lips, he started to work his way down again, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake. He was rather proud of himself. He'd turned Merlin into a quivering wreck, only his name coming out of kiss swollen lips now, in only a few minutes. Grinning, he bit down lightly on his collar bone, tongue lapping at the sweaty, flushed skin.

Rearranging him, he twined their legs together, pressing hips and erections flush against each other through clothe. He groaned softly at the feeling. Giving up on torturing him with kisses, he dove back up, capturing his mouth to battle with tongues, rubbing their hips together for much needed friction.

It wasn't long before they were both dripping with sweat, breaths coming out in pants as they moved against each other. Feeling the gathering heat in his lower abdomen start to unravel, he bent down and captured his lips one last time, stifling his groan as he came, his hips jerking in erratic movements.

He felt Merlin, stiffen, his whole body going taunt as he reached his breaking point. Then he, too, was letting out a small moan, pressing his lips against the side of Arthur's neck, trying to stay quiet.

They lay there, a post-cordial haze weighing them down as their breaths and heart rates slowed. Finally, he tuned his head to look down at Merlin. His eyes were closed to small slits, his lips parted as he panted for breath. Finally, his eyes opened fully. The pupils were still slightly blown, but the golden ring was gone. A goofy smile crossed his face as he stared up at Arthur. "I'm guessing you're not mad anymore?" He asked voice husky and worn.

"Oh, I'm still mad. It's going to take me awhile to get over it, if you know what I mean?" He said, lifting an eyebrow at him. Merlin snorted, but didn't say no. "So, is that offer of sleeping in your bed still open, because I really don't want to have to sleep on your lumpy couch again?" Merlin nodded.

"Then, let's go." He reached down to help him up. As Merlin stood, he gave his hand an extra pull, making Merlin stumble as he bent down. He ended up thrown over one of his shoulders. Ignoring his whispered protests, remembering that Mordred was sleeping in the guest room, he walked quietly to Merlin's room, opening the door and going through before he locked it behind them.

_Case 1. End._


	2. Case 2: Road Trip to Murderville

****

Title:

Duty of the Heart

**Disclaimer:** Merln is owned by the BBC and other associated parties. I do not make any profit from this story and the plot is purely fiction.

**Summary:** AU, slash, A/M, Merlin is the new guy on the police force in Camelot and has just been assigned as Arthur's new partner. Follow them through some of their cases as they become even closer than intended.

**Warnings:** violence, kidnapping, slash, sex, gore, racism against druids (not me), torture, drugging, murder, bondage, hurt/comfort,

**Pairings:** ArthurxMerlin, GwenxLancelot (Only mentioned in passing)

Author's Note: I have gathered a few of these plots from other sources, but though I won't say what sources, know that they are there. Also know that, although I may have borrowed a few ideas, I don't gain anything from them. So no flaming about how I stole a plot from this book or that movie, etc.

xXx

_Case 2. Road Trip to Murderville._

"You mean they're actually letting you do that?" Arthur asked him, voice slightly disbelieving.

"Yes. He's got no family left, and if I hadn't, he'd just be put into child services. He said he would like that and all the papers are done so stop bitching about it." Merlin snapped.

"I'm not. It just hard to see you as a parent." That sentence sent them into silence for a few minutes.

"All right. I get why you adopted him and that you need to get your place fixed up so he can stay there so you're taking him to your uncle's place for a few weeks. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now tell me, why am _I_ stuck driving you there?" He demanded, ignoring the snigger in the back seat as Mordred listened to them talk.

"Because, my car's dead at the moment and you're the only person I know with a car who has today off. So deal with it."

The car was silent for a few more miles as they contemplated their own thoughts before a voice rang out. "Are we there yet?" Ten minutes later. "Are we there yet?" Another ten minutes later. "Are we there yet?"

"That's it, shrimp. You are so dead when we get there." Arthur snapped glaring at Mordred behind him through the rear view mirror as Merlin let out a tired sigh.

* * *

They pulled up in front of a stone cottage set back from the road. It was two stories with flower beds following the path to the door and a vegetable garden peeking out from

behind it. The stone had been painted in earth tones, making it blend into the surrounding trees and plants.

Getting out, they all trooped to the door, Arthur carrying Mordred's things as the young druid stared about him. "Your uncle actually lives here?" He asked, not noticing the opening door.

"Where else would I live, young man?" Mordred turned to stare at the older man. His long gray hair was swept back, exposing its widow's peak. He had a beak of a nose and laugh lines bracketing his eyes and mouth. His outfit was a simple pair of slacks and an older fashioned button down shirt.

"Uncle, may I introduce Mordred Alder. Mordred, this is Gaius Emrys, my uncle." Merlin introduced them.

"Hello, young man. It appears that you will be staying here for a few days." He said aloud, humor leaking out slightly. Gaius had always been a softy around kids, no matter whose kids they were.

"Hello." He said, holding out a hand to the older man. Gaius took it and shook.

He turned to Merlin and Arthur. "I'll show him around if you want to get him settled in." Merlin nodded and grabbed Arthur's arm to drag him into the house.

Leading him into the stairs, he half dragged, half pushed him up the stairs. They ended up in front of one of the many doors in the upstairs hallway. Pushing the wooden door open, he let Arthur walk in ahead of him. It was a smallish room with a bed, desk, and lamp, some shelves on the wall, a book case and an empty closet. "It's not much, but I think Mordred will like it." He said aloud as Arthur set Mordred's suitcase on the bed.

"Merlin…" He turned from examining the full book case to see Arthur was directly behind him.

"What?" He asked, suspicious. Arthur just grinned evilly and leaned forward to press Merlin's back into the wooden shelves. "Arthur, this is neither the time nor place for this." He whispered hotly, trying to push Arthur away, albeit weakly.

"Any time is a good time." He whispered right back, bending his head forward to nibble on the rim of his ear. Merlin just held on tighter as Arthur played with him. He let out a sigh of defeat as Arthur kissed him on the lips. It was a slow, steamy kiss that had his knees weakening and his pulse pounding.

He heard footsteps on the stairs and finally pulled away, pushing Arthur off of him as Gaius and Mordred's voice floated into the room. He tried desperately to push his arousal down and gain some sort of composure as he waited for them to enter the room. It was then he realized that the door was still open and he shot a 'paint peeling' glare at Arthur before he composed himself as they entered.

"˗is where you will be staying." Gaius was telling the druid as they entered the now quiet room, unaware of what had been going on moments earlier.

Gaius turned to them. "I will be cooking dinner soon so if you want to do anything before then, do it now. I've also made up the beds in the guest room, but you'll have to share the room." Gaius only had two guest rooms, the one they were in now and the second one at the other end of the hall with the two twin beds in it. The room was left over from his children when they were young.

Merlin nodded and left, with Arthur trailing behind him like a smug puppy. He ignored him, going back to the car to grab his overnight bag and took it to their room. Arthur flopped down onto the left hand bed, his own bag thrown haphazardly on the floor. They could make out the sounds of Gaius cooking with Mordred talking with him.

"Is Gaius like you and Mordred?" Arthur asked him, staring up at the ceiling.

"A little. He tends to do things the old fashioned way than to use magic. He actually has a degree in herbal pharmaceuticals and medicine. He makes them all by hand and sells them." He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking down at Arthur, curious. "Why'd you ask?"

"Just curious. So is he going to teach him to use magic?" He asked him, reaching out a hand to run his fingertips along the patch of skin on his inner wrist.

"Yes. Mordred has a good grasp on magic, but he still needs to learn control. It will be good practice while he's here. Gaius did the same for me when I came into my powers." He moved his wrist away from the seeking fingers and instead intertwined them.

"When was that?"

"About two months ago. It just came out of nowhere and was the reason I transferred. Ealdor is too far away for Gaius to have been any help."

"Do you miss Ealdor?" Arthur asked, not meeting his eyes as he watched their hands.

"Sometimes, when I get homesick. Mostly I just miss mum or my mates Will and Freya…but it's brief and far in-between." He gave a small sigh and lay back, resting his head on Arthur's stomach.

This was still kind of new to him, this easy intimacy with Arthur. They just seemed to fit together like two puzzle pieces. Sometimes, it was embarrassing the way Arthur acted in public since he wasn't used to being so public with emotions. Other times, he was glad the way Arthur acted, helping his self-esteem soar when he was feeling his most insecure about himself.

It looked like Arthur was the unsure party this time. Not surprising since they'd hardly had any time to get to know each other. One month was too short a time for anyone to truly know someone else…and they always seemed to avoid the topic of either his magic or his home.

He poked him in the side with a bony finger. Arthur gave an unmanly yelp as he rubbed his side. "I'm not thinking of going back, if that's what's got you so quiet."

"Shut up, idiot." Arthur grumbled, running his hand through Merlin's hair as they lay there listening to the two down stairs. They stayed like that until Gaius called them down for dinner.

* * *

They woke up early to the sound of Mordred knocking on the door. Stifling a yawn, he walked to the door and opened it. Mordred was dressed and wide awake. "Mordred it's…" He glanced blurrily at the alarm clock on the table. "Six in the morning."

"I know, but I wanted to go exploring, but Gaius said I had to take one of you two with me since he's with a customer right now." They heard Arthur groan and throw his arm over his face.

There was a muffled reply. "Give us an hour to wake up and get ready." Merlin turned in time to see Arthur push himself up, the blankets pooling around his hips, to run a hand through his tousled hair.

Mordred nodded and walked back down the hall to climb down the stairs. Merlin shut the door softly and turned back to face Arthur. "That kid's certainly opened up a lot more since we first met him." He commented, remembering the withdrawn, quiet boy that had seen his mother murdered before his eyes.

"Yeah, the shrimp's certainly grown, though not in height." He stood with a grumble and stalked out of the room into the bathroom across the hall. Merlin heard the shower start up and smiled as he lay back down to wait for his turn.

Ten minutes later, Arthur was shaking him after he had dozed off. Blinking sleepily, he dragged himself into the shower, putting the water on cold to wake himself up than as hot as he could stand to finish the job.

Fifteen minutes later, he was dress and downstairs shoveling cinnamon flavored porridge into his mouth as Arthur munched on some toast and Mordred sat across from them with a glass of orange juice as he waited for them to finish.

Exactly an hour after their wake up call, they were shrugging into some light jackets, pulling on their shoes and left the cottage to start their exploration of the lands surrounding Gaius's cottage. "Over there, you have pasture lands. You have the woods behind Gaius's house which leads to Avalon Lake. That's about it for this area." Merlin informed them as they stood outside trying to pick a direction.

The sun was up, though barely, and was painting the sky in shades of gold, pink, red, blue and orange.

"Let's go see the lake." Mordred piped in. So they started off, trekking through the woods for about half a mile. Arthur spent part of the time laughing at Merlin's clumsiness and the rest pointing out different plants to Mordred, admitting to having studied plants for a semester before he had changed to a different degree.

Finally after having spent about an hour walking through underbrush, trees, over roots, rabbit holes, and other debris, the trees started to thin out and they finally arrived at the lake. It shone bright blue in the sun's light.

They started around the edge, keeping away from the rim so as not to go falling in. Mordred roamed ahead of them, keeping in sight, but otherwise occupied in his own little bubble of the great outdoors. Merlin and Arthur walked side by side, sharing a thermos of coffee they had brought with them.

Mordred stopped some distance ahead, eyes scanning over the lake as something caught his eye. They had just reached him when he turned and stated boldly, "I think there's a body out there."

Merlin blinked a few times before he turned to follow Mordred's pointing finger. The sun was reflecting off of the water, making it hard to see anything, but he could just make out a flash of red. Arthur must have seen it too, because he felt him stiffen beside him. "Dammit." He cursed softly before pulling out his phone.

* * *

An hour later saw them being questioned by the local authorities as they extracted the body, a young male about twenty nine, from the water. "You do not know," He glanced down at the waterlogged wallet, "Mr. Alex Calvin, then?" The deputy asked them again.

"No we do not. As we told you before, we were walking in the woods when we found the body." Arthur explained patiently to the officer as they waited to be released from questioning.

"Alright. You're free to go for now. Leave your contact information with that officer over there and we'll be in touch with you three later on. Also, please don't leave town until we have contacted you."

"What? We were supposed to leave tomorrow." Arthur yelled at him.

Merlin smacked him on the head. "We won't leave until then." He pulled Arthur a little away. "We'll just have to call Uther and explain to him why we will be late getting back. Who knows, maybe he'll send people to hurry things along." Merlin told him.

"I highly doubt that." Arthur muttered, but followed Merlin to the waiting officer.

* * *

"Mordred's quieter than usual." Gaius commented later that afternoon. They sat in the kitchen sipping tea as Gaius mixed some stuff in his mortar.

"I think he's just slightly shaken up because of the body. It probably reminded him of his mother. He'll come to us if he wants to talk." Merlin explained, eyes watching the small TV in the kitchen as the news report was broadcast. So far, only a mentioning of a body being found in the lake was said. No clue as to whether it was a murder or something else.

"Merlin." Arthur's voice rang out warningly.

"What?" He asked, annoyed, a stab of guilt cutting through him.

"This is not our case. You will not get involved in this." Arthur said authoritatively, glaring down at him as he leaned against the counter.

"I wasn't going to get involved. I was just curious." He tried to defend himself. Arthur continued to just stare down at him. "Fine, I won't get involved." He shut the TV off with the press of a button on the remote. "Happy now?"

Arthur just turned away, still sipping his tea as he stared out the window into Gaius's back yard, in the direction of the woods and lake. He jumped when his phone went off, the ring tone sounding too shrill and high pitched for the quiet of the room.

He pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the number before answering. "Hello?" He pulled it away with a wince as someone started to yell over the line. "Jeez, Morgana…No need to make my ear bleed…Yes…It's exactly like I told Uther…No, I didn't go looking for it…No need to sound so bitchy….Yes, I know that…Alright…I understand, but that is still no reason to yell…Fine…I'll see you then…Bye!" He hung up with a growl.

"What was she calling about?" Merlin asked, standing from his chair.

Arthur glared at the phone one last time before answering. "She's pissed that we got ourselves dragged into this. Apparently, she thinks we went looking for the body. I told her no, but she still wasn't very trusting. She also told me that Uther is sending her and Gwen down to help the authorities out so we can get back faster. We're to meet her at their hotel tomorrow morning with Mordred and then we're heading over to the local precinct." He gave an annoyed sigh as he stuffed his phone into his pocket again.

"I'll go tell Mordred." Merlin said walking out of the kitchen to the room he was staying in.

* * *

The next morning found them in front of one of the town's small hotels. Checking with the desk, they trooped upstairs to the room the two were staying in. Arthur, deciding to get some revenge for the yelling from yesterday, pounded on the door nonstop until it was yanked open with curse.

Morgana and Gwen were both dressed in normal clothing instead of what they normally wore to work. "Arthur, who would have guessed you could be this annoying in the morning." She drawled as she shot a venomous glare at him.

"Hi, Morgana, Gwen." Merlin said softly, drawing her wrath away from Arthur.

"Merlin." Morgana stepped forward to pat him on the cheek before squatting down in front of Mordred. "I hope you've been giving Arthur here a hard time." She said softly, like they were conspirators in some large scheme. He nodded enthusiastically, making her grin fondly and pat him on the head.

"Morgana, we really need to be going. We told them we would meet them at eight and it is a quarter till." Gwen said, glancing at her watch.

"Of course. Come on boys. Let's get your butts out of the fryer." She sauntered off, leaving them staring after her for a moment before following.

* * *

"Ah, Officer Le Fay, Officer Smith. So glad you could join us. I hope we can get this solved quickly so your associates can get back to work back home." Officer Hector Arrow, chief of the city's police, sat down in front of them, cup of coffee in hand.

"Thank you. Commissioner Pendragon sends his greetings and hopes for the same thing. He has also asked that though Officer Pendragon and Officer Emrys not be on the case, that they be kept up to date." Morgana had her regal air on, the one that demanded everyone do whatever she said.

"Of course. An extra pair of eyes might be just what we need to solve this case. Now if you would like, I can bring you four up to date as it is now." She nodded. "As you know the latest victim was Alex Calvin. To date, there have been four other murders all near or around the lake in question." He held up a file and passed it to them. "So far, we have been unable to find any connection as to why they were chosen. All have differing race, religion, sex, age, everything. Three of them have a possible match, but it is still inconclusive if that is what ties them together."

"May I see?" Merlin asked aloud. He nodded and he looked at the photos from the autopsy. He started flicking through them, looking for anything out of place. He was aware of all eyes on him, but ignored them as he skimmed each photo.

They watched him stiffen as something caught his eye. He scanned through the next three, finding the same thing. He looked up, eyes grim. "I believe I may have your connection."

* * *

"Druids?" Hector asked, confused.

"Yes, this symbol," He held up one of the photos to show the tattoo marking one of the victim's body, "it is the mark of a druid. Only the ones who are fully initiated into the religion get the tattoo. The rest, though they practice, do not. This explains the unmarked victim."

"And you know of this…how?" He asked, suspicious.

"I was friends with a few of the druids back in my old home. They explained a lot of their religion to me." He looked down at the photos again. "You might want to start by getting in contact with any confirmed druids. Try and spread the word around for them to keep wary. That's the best you can do for now until you get more evidence."

"We'll do that, but what do you mean by _confirmed_?" He asked, curious.

"Druids, from experience, are mistrustful. Too much persecution and hate. They tend to stay to certain crowds out of force than choice." He explained easily, keeping his voice mellow and emotionless.

"Ah, well thank you for this information. We will keep you informed if anything new comes in." They nodded and left, steps even as they walked out.

* * *

By the time they had collected Mordred and reached the hotel, Merlin was shaking visibly. "Merlin, what's wrong?" Gwen asked concerned.

"Not here. Wait until we get to the room." He said tersely, eyes scanning the passing people warily.

They reached the floor they were staying one and shut and locked the door behind them before turning to look at Merlin expectantly. He wasn't looking at them, but at Mordred.

"I don't think Mordred should stay here. It's too dangerous for him."

"What are you talking about Merlin? He's got us and Gaius looking out for him. Now please explain, what's the matter?"

"Mordred…I know I told you that I wouldn't tell them, but it's important. Life and death. They need to know to understand why I'm so concerned. Do you understand?" Mordred nodded, lower lip trembling slightly. "You need to show them." He nodded. He unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off. Hesitating slightly, he unbuttoned the shirt's collar and then tugged it down, showing them the black ink curving along his skin, marking him for what he was.

It was hushed in the room as they stared at the tattoo that proclaimed quiet loudly why Merlin was so wary and nervous. Mordred hastily covered the tattoo back up, before hugging Merlin, waiting for their condemning remarks that he was sure would follow.

"So that's why…" Gwen couldn't even finish her sentence.

"This comes _way_ too close to home for comfort." Arthur murmured, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Mordred." Morgana called softly. He peeked up under the fringe of his bangs. "We don't hate you. We could never hate you for what religion you practice." She reassured him softly. He nodded, but still held onto Merlin.

He looked down at the small figure and called his name softly. The pale boy looked up. "You have to understand why I had you do this. Mordred, someone out there is killing off druids and you would be too tempting a target for them, whoever it is. They had to know why so they can keep you safe." He nodded and pulled back, smiling a watery smile at him.

"Wait a minute, what about Gaius?" Arthur asked.

"No, Gaius isn't a druid. He studied them, but never practiced. He deals strictly with herbs and herb lore." Merlin stated.

"Alright. Our first priority is to make a plan so at least one of us is always with Mordred at all times. We'll work from there." Morgana said authoritatively, taking control of the situation with ease of practice.

* * *

By the time the three of them reached Gaius's cottage, they were tired with their heads buzzing full of plans. For the moment, it would just be the three of them keeping Mordred safe. If something came up, than Gwen and Morgana would look after Mordred.

Mordred was even more subdued, but looked a little cheerful. To know that the adults you liked and respected didn't hate you for what you were was probably a big weight of his thin shoulders. As Mordred went up to his room to sleep, Gaius, Merlin and Arthur sat around his kitchen table, voices low as they talked.

"So that's what this is headed for." Gaius seemed to sink deep in thought, the lines on his face deepening and making him appear older than he actually was. "The hard part is trying to figure out if this is just a hate crime, or for something even darker. Have you felt anything since you got here?" Gaius asked, eyeing Merlin.

He shook his head no, hands wrapped around his cup of tea as he watched the steam rise in lazy curls. "I've been too busy focusing on other things that I haven't paid too much attention to the surrounding magic…but I would have felt it if someone was amassing power, even as distracted as I've been. That either means they're not, or they've wards in place to dampen the magic's aura." He gave a heavy sigh, taking a sip from the tea. "I hate trying to figure these things out. They always make my head hurt."

"You'll just have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. For now though, it would best if we turned in and got some sleep. We'll be able to think clearly with it. I'll stay up and call some of the magic users I know around here. They should be able to get the word out, while being discreet about who sent out the message. Let's hope that will be enough."

Nodding, the two stood up and trekked up the stairs to their room. Merlin stopped for a moment, looking in on Mordred. The pale boy was sprawled across his bed, blankets bunched in random places on and under him. He looked to be sleeping peacefully.

Arthur, seeming to see his mental state, tugged him away from the door, shutting it noiselessly. "We'll be fine. We'll make sure nothing happens to him, but in order to do that, you need to stop fretting yourself into exhaustion." He continued to tug him down the hall to the room.

Ignoring his murmured protests, he pushed him onto the bed and stripped him of his clothes quickly and effectively, leaving no room for argument. Quickly undressing himself, he lay down beside him. "I have my own bed you know." He muttered as Arthur just wrapped him in his arms.

"Shut up, and just sleep, Merlin." He ordered softly.

They lay there in silence, but neither could find sleep. Merlin rolled over, looking at Arthur. "What have we gotten ourselves into?" He asked lowly.

"Nothing. They'll solve the case and then it will be fine." Arthur tried to reassure him.

"But what would have happened if we never found the body…and if we left Mordred here alone? If whoever is doing this found out about him, we would be helpless to stop him."

"Merlin, shut up. It doesn't matter _if_ this might have happened or _if_ that might have happened. Just focus on the now." He said softly, shaking him gently to get his point across.

"But–"

"No buts!" He stopped him from speaking with a kiss, as he pulled him flush against his chest. He could feel the tension in Merlin's body, the fear for the young druid making him tremble slightly. Pulling away with a growl, he attacked his neck, kissing and biting at him until Merlin could do nothing but hold on for dear life, small gasps seeping through closed lips.

A hand trailed lower, leaving streaks of warmth in their path. The tension was still there, but was being added to with the tension of holding himself back, trying to keep his voice from sounding out. Deciding to rectify that, he reached down further, and wrapped his hand around him, squeezing lightly. Merlin could do nothing but gasp aloud as pleasure shot through his veins.

Arthur pushed himself over the lithe male, caging him, shielding him with his body, holding him captive as he tortured him with his touch. Merlin just arched up into his touch, breath short and labored.

He interlocked their legs, canting his hips forward until they were pressed together, cocks touching. Grasping them both, he pulled, drawing a muted cry from him, making him writhe underneath him. Merlin seemed helpless against the onslaught, unable to stop him or his own hips from pressing forward into his fist.

He kissed him slowly, drawing his tongue into a heated battle as they continued to rut against each other and his hand. Merlin buried his hands in Arthur's hair, hips moving franticly as he neared his release.

Arthur goaded him on, grip tightening, kissing him breathless, his own release close. Merlin came with a cry, swallowed down as Arthur continued to kiss him. His body tensing up as he spilled himself between them, his muscles trembling.

Arthur continued moving, rutting against Merlin's now pliant body until his own release hit him. He buried his face into his neck, moaning low in his throat as he too spilled himself between their sweaty and sticky bodies.

They lay there, panting softly, the tension finally draining from Merlin's thin frame. Merlin dragged his face up to press trembling lips to his in a clumsy kiss. He smiled at him appreciatively, a knowing look in his eyes.

Moving to the side, he picked up one of their discarded shirts and wiped them down. He lay down next to him, holding him close. Holding his face, he forced him to look him in the eye. "We will protect him, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Do you understand?" He asked voice gravely.

Merlin nodded mutely, laying his head down on his shoulder and curling up along his side. They lay there, enjoying the post-orgasmic high until sleep finally dragged them down into its soft darkness.

* * *

The next two days saw them sitting around the cottage doing nothing. No new information was brought to them as the police continued their investigation. They left twice in those two days, both to meet up with Gwen and Morgana

Merlin spent most of the visits casting about with his magic, searching for any anomalies in the area. If there were any, they were too far away from him or hidden to sense.

The second night, they were just getting ready to eat when Arthur's phone went off. Glancing at it, Arthur gave a wary sigh and answered. He stood there listening, as whoever it was went off. Grimacing at the end, he said a soft, "Understood." and hung up.

He glanced up and saw eyes on him. Smiling wryly, he sat back down. "Uther's not pleased at how long it's taking 'these country bumpkins' to wrap up the case, his words not mine. He saying that he wants not just Morgana and Gwen, but us as well to get involved fully so as to wrap this case up."

"Alright, we'll go talk with Morgana and Gwen tomorrow. I'm assuming he told them as well?" Merlin asked, picking at his food.

He nodded. "And the police as well. Let's hope they don't take it too hard."

* * *

That night, like the one two nights before, they shared a bed, though they just lay there talking and nothing else. By eight, they had Mordred up and dressed and were pulling up in front of the hotel.

Morgana and Gwen were already ready and expecting them. They left soon after that and were waiting in the precinct for Officer Arrow to arrive.

When he did, he did with a black scowl on his face. Before he could say anything, Arthur was already talking. "We know, we know. Just ignore Uther's attitude. It's just the way he is. We're here to help in any way we can."

He nodded curtly and beckoned one of his officers over. "Officer Muirden here will keep an eye on the boy while we talk." The man in question was of middling height with short dirty blonde hair. What stood out the most was his face which bore scar tissue over half of his face, giving his mouth a slight droop. "Muirden, you will make sure nothing happens to the boy while he is here."

"Of course, sir. I think we may have some board games in the break room we can play on, or we can do something else, if you would like?" He asked Mordred. He eyed him for a moment before nodded cautiously. "Good. Right this way." He smiled brightly, holding out a hand for Mordred to take.

They walked off, Merlin following them with a slight frown on his face. "Officer Emrys." Arrow called. Shaking himself, he followed after into the conference room.

* * *

A few hours later and they hadn't gotten very far. The person struck randomly it seemed, never sticking to one area. The only common place was the lake and the woods surrounding it, where he always dumped the body.

Sighing in frustration, Merlin stood with a groan. He felt tension all through his back from sitting in an uncomfortable chair. "I'm going to go get something to drink and check in on Mordred. Which way is the break room?" He asked Arrow.

"Take a left, down the hall, fifth door on the right." Nodding, he left, following instructions to the room.

It was empty. "Maybe this is the wrong room. He looked in each one on either side. One was someone's office. The other a janitor's closet. Going back to the first room, he looked around. He spotted one of the board games they must have played. "Maybe they're walking around the place."

He turned and headed for the front desk of the place. The woman shook her head. They hadn't come this way. Worry causing his brow to furrow, he continued his search. He found one of the office's open, the room occupied. He asked again.

"Oh, Muirden. Yes, I saw him. He and a kid were headed out the back way to the parking lot about twenty minutes ago. Kid didn't look to well though." She said concern on her face.

Merlin thanked her before he walked back to the conference room. No one noticed him coming in except Arthur. "Merlin, what is it?"

The others finally looked up. "Officer Arrow, why would Muirden be taking Mordred to the parking lot out back?" He asked slowly, trying to keep the panic at bay.

"The parking lot? No idea. That's only where the officer's park their personal cars when their on duty."

"Where is his office?" He asked patiently.

"On the left. Two doors down. Why–"

Merlin didn't hear the rest. Just left the room and headed for his office. It was locked, but a burst of magic had it opening with ease. He stood there, hand clenching the door handle in a death grip as the aura of the room washed over him.

He could feel the malice choking the air, clogging it like scummy filth on its surface. Ignoring the creeping feeling as it brushed his skin; he pushed open the door all the way and stepped in. He heard Arthur behind him, but ignored him as he sought out the source of the malevolence.

He found himself in front of one of his filing cabinets. It, too, was locked, with more than just metal, but he wasn't letting that stop him. He opened it harshly with a dull clang and he peered inside. He found some bronze instruments, a carved wooden box…and in a shallow crystal bowl rested bloody strands of hair, wrapping around some sort of carved piece of wood.

He spun around, finally seeing the others gathered in the office. "I believe we've found your killer." He spat out, hands clinched into fists.

* * *

Gaius stood in his front yard, watering his flower beds as the sun rose. Pausing to wipe his forehead, he looked up as the sound of a car drew near. He watched it go by, noticing the small slumped figure buckled into the front seat. "Mordred?" He said softly, taking in the figure next to him.

He watched the car turn into one of the side roads that led to the old abandoned church near the lake. Setting the hose down, he turned the water off and went inside, pulling out his small cell phone and speed dialed the first number on his list.

* * *

Merlin glanced down at his phone and noticed the flashing light that indicated a message. Flipping it open, he scanned the small text message. "Arrow, do you know where the old church by the lake is?" He asked, looking in the back seat where Arrow, Morgana, and Gwen had crammed into. Half of the available force was headed for Edwin Muirden's home, half was searching with them and had split up to cover the city better.

"Yes, take this road for a few miles and then take a right. I'll point out the turn off." Nodding, Arthur sped up, face a mask of concentration.

* * *

"So I was found out, and by an old man no less." The man stood from his crouched position over an unconscious Mordred. "No, this is too funny. Gaius, the plant man." He laughed loudly, holding his side. Gaius just watched him warily, edging forwards into the long since empty church.

"Though I'm surprised you don't recognize me. I admit, there has been much change, but you should at least have recognized my aura."

"I never said I didn't, young man." Gaius drawled in a deprecating voice. Edwin scowled at him, clenching his hands into fists, an angry retort on his tongue. "I'm not surprised you would resort to this. After the fire that took your parents, you never were the same. So why are you amassing so much power?" He asked him.

"Why, to create a resurrection of course. You need power to create life." He smiled manically.

"And the druids are because…?"

"They refused to help me. I begged, pleaded with them to help me bring my parents back, but they refused. Said it was against the laws of nature and magic. That they would not soil their hands for one made man's crazed notions. Well I showed them."

"It is against nature. It will never work and if you were sane, you would know it."

"Shut up!" He screamed, sending his magic out like a whip, striking out in anger. A line of blood showed on his cheek, but he ignored it, focused on him.

"You leave me no choice." He drew up his powers, shoving with all his might at the man, muttering a spell under his breath. It barely even affected him.

He laughed again. "You're getting old, Gaius. That was just a gentle spring breeze. Now if you want power, I'll show you a raging summer thunder storm." He felt the magic swelling around them, pushing him, making his knees go weak and his old lungs labor to draw in a breath of air.

His words whipped out like the crack of a whip, and flames sprang into life around him, where he leaned against a wall for support. They drew in, sucking his air away and heating the area around him.

* * *

They came to a screeching halt, tires squealing in protest. Merlin didn't even wait, just rushed out of the car and ran up the crumbling, moss covered steps into the church. Putting his shoulder against the door, he shoved with all his strength, but something held it back.

Glaring at it, he stepped back and shoved with his magic, the door groaned in protest as two forces tried to move it from opposite sides. Giving a low hiss, he shoved harder and the door finally opened slowly. He slipped through the small opening and his magic let go. It shut with a thud that echoed dully in the open spaces of the church.

He could hear voices and pounding on the other side as the others finally made it to the door, but he ignored them. He had to face the man alone. It was gloomy where he stood, but further he could see flames rising up against the wall. He could just make out Gaius's slumped form.

Shifting to the right, he spotted Edwin, knelt over Mordred's small frame. He stalked forward, magic boiling just underneath his skin as his rage fueled it into greater heights.

He watched the man stand and come closer to where he stood. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." His hand came up, gun pointed straight at Merlin's chest. Merlin froze, glaring daggers at the man. "Good. Who would have thought someone as strong as you existed? After I'm finished with these two, maybe I'll go onto you next." He murmured to himself. The pounding on the door increased. "And you brought friends as well. How lovely."

"Let them go, Edwin and I won't hurt you." He said softly, trying to reason with him.

"Why should I? I've worked hard to get them. Their magic will just add to my own."

"They know it was you who killed the others. I found your little stash in the file cabinet." Merlin said softly.

"…You didn't." He said faintly.

Merlin reached into his pocket, pulling out a small evidence bag with the hair and wood in it. "One wrong move and it all goes up in smoke. All that hard work for nothing. All that power gone." Merlin threatened him.

Merlin blinked when the man just smiled. "That won't stop me. Because soon you'll be dead." His finger pressed down and the gun went off.

Merlin watched the bullet arch and spin towards him, time slowing down to a crawl. It stopped a few feet away, frozen in its deadly force. "I'm sorry, Edwin, but it's the only way." He pushed, ever so gently with his magic and the small bud of metal shifted, turned in its course. Then he released his hold on it. It shot back the way it came, aim true, to bury itself in-between his bulging brown eyes.

He collapsed in a small heap, the fire going out in an instant and the doors smashing open as the force holding them vanished. He ignored all of this as he rushed over to check on Mordred. He was out cold, probably some sort of sedative, but appeared unharmed.

The sound of running footsteps was coming closer and then Arthur was knelt down in front of them. "He's alright. Just sedated." Merlin reassured him as he held the boy up. He gave a soft sigh of relief and lay him back down in a more comfortable position.

"Good." Arthur's voice sounded rough. His hands gripped Merlin's upper arms and shook. "Are you crazy?" He yelled out. "You could have been killed, you stupid idiot." He was pulled roughly into an embrace and he could feel Arthur shaking under him.

"I'm sorry…I wasn't thinking. I won't do it again." He promised, resting his forehead against his shoulder.

"Why don't you take them home for now? I've radioed in for the rest of the search party and they should be here in a few minutes. We'll call you if we need anything and get your statements later." Arthur nodded and went over to help Gaius stand while Merlin picked up the limp druid.

* * *

It took a few hours before Mordred woke up, but they were happy to see it. Gaius had a few small burns, but he just brushed off any help and used his own medicines to help treat it.

They had a simple dinner and went to bed early that night, too tired to do much else. Merlin sat next to Mordred until the boy finally went to asleep, hand clasped tightly in his smaller one.

Pulling away, he tucked him in and left, flicking the nightlight on in case he woke during the night. Trudging down the hall, he slipped into their room and slowly started to undress. When he turned back, Arthur was sitting up in bed, watching his every move.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"Come here." Arthur just said quietly, holding his arms open for Merlin. He crawled onto the bed and let Arthur hold onto him. He was still shaking, muscles trembling as his arms tightened around him. "I thought for a moment that I'd lost you. All we heard was the gun go off and…jeez, I don't know what I felt, but I didn't like it." He buried his face into his neck, holding on tight.

"Shh, Arthur. It's alright. I'm right here, unharmed. I'm sorry for scaring you so. I wasn't thinking straight. I was just so focused on getting to Mordred…I should have realized sooner what Edwin was. God, I'm so stupid."

He felt Arthur snort against his neck. "If Morgana were here, she'd tell us we were being a couple of sissies, you know that right?"

Merlin grinned. "Well she's not here, so no need to worry."

Arthur nodded, pulling back. He leaned in, and pressed a light kiss to his nose, eyelids, cheeks, and finally his lips. It was just a simple kiss, but it didn't take long to deepen. He felt something in his chest clench, guilt for causing this hurt to Arthur.

That had him reevaluating the feeling. When had it gotten this far? When had their relationship changed so much? And why did he want more of this? It was confusing to say the least, so he pushed it to the back of his mind, setting it aside for another day, another moment to think since Arthur was making it hard to do that right now.

They pulled apart short of breath. Arthur lay back down, pulling Merlin with him. Snuggling up to him, he lay his head down on his shoulder, tucking himself up under his chin. Arthur just pulled him closer, one hand wrapped around his waist, the other resting against his chest over his heart, feeling the beat there. The sure sign of life beneath his fingertips.

_Case 2. End._


	3. Case 3: Party Till You Drop

********

Title:

Duty of the Heart

**Disclaimer:** Merln is owned by the BBC and other associated parties. I do not make any profit from this story and the plot is purely fiction.

**Summary:** AU, slash, A/M, Merlin is the new guy on the police force in Camelot and has just been assigned as Arthur's new partner. Follow them through some of their cases as they become even closer than intended.

**Warnings:** violence, kidnapping, slash, sex, gore, racism against druids (not me), torture, drugging, murder, bondage, hurt/comfort,

**Pairings:** ArthurxMerlin, GwenxLancelot (Only mentioned in passing)

Author's Note: I have gathered a few of these plots from other sources, but though I won't say what sources, know that they are there. Also know that, although I may have borrowed a few ideas, I don't gain anything from them. So no flaming about how I stole a plot from this book or that movie, etc.

xXx

_Case 3. Party Till You Drop_

Arthur sighed loudly, looking down at the bloodless body in front of him. They'd already confirmed this was the dump site, not the murder scene. The woman, blond, blue eyes, and face done up in heavy makeup, appeared to have been hacked to death by some sort of blade. They wouldn't know what until forensics told them what it had been.

A soft curse sounded behind him, noting Merlin's arrival as he tripped on the street curb. "Hello, Merlin." He said, turning to look at his partner.

"They ID'd her. Melanie Higgins, she worked for a caterer as a hostess. Last seen two months ago, the locals were unable to find any trace of her and were unable to find where she was abducted." He informed, holding up a case file. "She's the twelfth one in two years."

Arthur nodded and squatted down next to her. He pointed, drawing Merlin's gaze. He was gesturing at the crook of her arm. Tracks ran up and down it, testament of extended drug use. "Wonder what she's been up to?" He asked. Merlin just nodded.

Shivering, he pulled his coat tighter around him. Winter had decided to make itself known to Camelot and the days had gradually grown colder, bringing frost and even snow once a few weeks ago. They'd all started bundling up in heavy jackets and scarves whenever they had to go out to see a crime scene.

He stood once more and motioned for Merlin to follow. They walked over to the waiting medical examiner and forensic people. "You guys can go ahead. We'll need any evidence sent to the station when you're through." They just nodded and started grabbing equipment.

The two got back in their waiting car and drove back over to the station. They'd just walked into the heated station when someone called their names. "Emrys, Pendragon. In my office." Uther's unmistakable voice called out.

Sighing, they shrugged out of their coats and walked into Commissioner Pendragon's office. Arthur just blinked when he saw Gwen and Morgana already seated in the large room. "Wha–" He didn't even finish.

"Sit." They both obeyed, looking at Uther. "I have just received word from the Mercian precinct. They have evidence of a drug trafficking ring that has set up shop here. They also says it might have some connection to our abduction murders. I want all four of you working on both cases. One from each team working with the other. Merlin, you will be working with Morgana on the abduction murders. Arthur, you and Gwen will work on finding out if this lead is true and will relay anything of interest with Mercia. They are sending a representative here to help with any problems."

There was a knock at the door. "Enter."

"Sir, the Mercian Officer is here." Katrina, the precinct's secretary, said.

"Let him in." She shut the door for a second than opened it again to let a man in.

He nodded to them. "My name is Valiant Rogue. I am the lead officer on the drug trafficking case." They all mumbled quiet hellos.

"You're all dismissed. Keep me updated on any developments." They saluted and left, shutting the door behind them.

The five of them trooped down the hall to Arthur's office which they were commandeering for the joint cases. "I don't know much about you abduction cases." Valiant admitted once they all sat down.

Nodding, Arthur held up the file. "Over the last two years, twelve, including today's victim, have gone missing and were later found dead. Each victim was killed by some sort of large knife, or ax. On each body, there are signs of prolonged drug use. We believe that they are being kidnapped and forced into prostitution. We're still gathering evidence on this."

"And that is where the drug ring comes into play. So far, we haven't found any word on the street as to where they are based. If any are in contact, they aren't speaking. We think the drug ring might have something to do with the kidnappings. A new branch for them to make money, but so far no evidence has been found to implicate that." Morgana piped in.

"Alright. Here is our file on them." Valiant pulled out the manila file from his briefcase. "At the moment, the head boss is Nimueh Moore. No one has been able to pull anything up on her. What we do know is that she has ties with this city. We have been trying to pin something on her for the past twenty some years, but so far, no one has been able to. We received word from one of our inside men that she might be trying to come back to her place of origin."

Valiant sat back and waited for them to think this new information over. The room was quiet as they scanned over the file. Finally, Merlin looked up. "I guess for now, Morgana and I will look into the latest victim. If you want, you can come as well, or work with Arthur and Gwen." He offered the man. He was tall, almost as muscled as Arthur with the short chopped hair of a military man. He had a square jaw and thin lips, with eyes that seemed to glare at everything.

"I think I'll accompany you two. I've already learned that case inside and out; maybe I'll be able to pick up a connection with you." Merlin nodded.

"Alright, you three get going. Me and Gwen will go over the case for now and decide where to start looking." Arthur said.

The three stood and filed out, Merlin looking back once to smile at his partner before shutting the door.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent at her apartment and checking leads with family and friends. "There's nothing here. It's clean as a whistle, nothing out of place." Merlin complained as he looked around.

"The landlord said she had paid for six months in advance, so no one ever came in to clear out the stuff, and no one has been in since she disappeared since the police searched." Morgana informed them as she walked in.

Walking over to the window, he busied himself by glancing out as he searched for any traces of magic. There was nothing, though it had been a long shot. Two months had passed since she had been here last and any traces had faded with time.

Movement on the other side of the street caught his attention. A shadowed form leaned against the side of a building in the alley. As he watched, he caught a flash of light as sunlight hit the lens of a camera or binoculars maybe.

"Someone's watching the place." He said softly, eyes trying to catch a glimpse of their face. He couldn't and he finally turned away from the window.

"What do we do?" Morgana asked.

"They probably have this place taped and would be gone by the time we even got out of the building. For now, we continue what we're doing and see if anyone follows us." She nodded and grabbed her things. They were headed across the city to talk with her parents.

* * *

There was no help there either. The last time they had seen their daughter was a week before she disappeared, though they had phoned her the day of her disappearance. That was when they knew something was wrong when she didn't come to dinner as she had planned.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Higgins. We'll keep in touch to let you know how the case is going." Morgana was talking to them.

"Um…do you know when we…when we can get her back? For the funeral." The mother asked tears making her eyes seem brighter than usual.

"The M.E. still has the body, but they should call you when they're finished. If you want I can give you their number to call." The woman nodded and she wrote it down a nearby note pad.

They left; eyes on the surrounding area in case someone had followed. No one stood out, but they could have been there, watching. The drive back was quiet as they thought over the things they had learned.

The office was empty when they walked in, Gwen and Arthur off somewhere else on their own case. "I guess we'll regroup tomorrow." Merlin commented aloud, picking up his coat.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Merlin. Have a good night, Mr. Rogue. If you have any questions, you can call either of us." The man just nodded, following them out. They split up, Morgana and Valiant going to their cars as Merlin started to walk. Arthur had his car since his was in the shop and they had come to work together.

He'd eventually bring it back to Merlin's apartment once he and Gwen got back. He was home ten minutes later. He glanced down at his watch. Mordred would be home from school in a few minutes. He'd started going a few months ago at the start of the new quarter. Merlin liked to get home early when he could to make sure he was here when the young druid arrived.

Setting his stuff down, he went into the kitchen and started making dinner. Running feet and the front door opening then slamming closed announced Mordred's arrival.

"I'm home." He called out. He came strolling into the kitchen, pale face flushed from the run.

"Hey, dinner will be ready soon. Why don't you set the table?" The boy nodded and went to go put his things away.

"Two or three?" He asked, standing by the cupboard that held the tableware.

"Two for now, but set a third plate aside in case Arthur decides to stay over." The boy nodded and grabbed the plate and walked out to the dining area.

By the time dinner was ready, the table was set. They were just about to sit down and eat when a knock at the door stopped them. Arthur didn't even wait for him to answer it before walking in.

"Damn, it's freezing out there." He complained as he pulled off his coat and hung it up. "Wonder if it'll snow tonight."

"I take it, this means you're staying for dinner?" Merlin asked, eyeing the blonde. He just grinned and nodded, pulling out the other chair and sitting. Sighing, Merlin sat too and started to dish out the spaghetti he'd made as Arthur and Mordred helped themselves to the tossed salad.

The room was quiet and comfortable as they ate. Arthur and Mordred got into a fork war over the last meatball before Merlin smacked them both and cut in half. By the time they finished, it was dark out and they were all sat in front of the TV, the dishes washing in the dishwasher.

A knock at the door had him glancing up, wondering who it could be. Shrugging, he walked over, opening the door. Morgana and Gwen stood there, smiling at him sweetly. Sighing, he let them in.

"Morgana!" Mordred cried, running over to give her a hug. They had quickly become friends and Morgana had become a sort of idol to the young druid, her influence rubbing off on him.

"Hey, little demon, hope you've been tormenting this idiot." She said, looking at Arthur.

Arthur just snorted as he scooted over for them to sit down on the couch with them. Merlin and Mordred sat on the floor, looking up at them. "So what brings you two here?" He asked, eyeing the two women next to him.

"What, we can't come over for a visit?" Morgana asked sweetly. Merlin just arched a brow; Gaius tended to rub off on people, and waited for the real reason. "Oh, all right. I wanted to talk about Valiant."

"What about him?" Arthur asked, looking at his sister.

"I don't really know. It's just something about him makes my skin crawl."

Gwen nodded. "He was still in the office when Arthur and I got there. He said he was looking through the file to see if he could find anything new. I just took it as he said, but he looked…I don't know, shifty." She tried to explain.

"Maybe it's just because he's from another precinct and we know nothing about him?" Merlin tried, always the optimist.

"I guess." Morgana agreed. "But we still should keep an eye on him just in case." They nodded in agreement. The air was still heavy, thoughts elsewhere as they went over the cases they were on.

* * *

Two weeks went by with no leads, from either case. They spent most of their time in the office, going over detail of both cases to try and find something. Valiant still remained courteous, yet still giving off some vibe that made them edgy around him.

Winter had really set in, icing the roads and pilling snow in grimy gutters. Soon school would be letting out for winter break, Christmas and all that came with it soon following and leading people into a shopping frenzy.

Sighing, Merlin pushed back from his desk. He and Morgana had stayed late to finish up some paperwork for their case. Valiant had been called out by a friend who needed a lift and was stuck out in the cold.

"You finished?" He asked her, flexing a cramping hand. The room was cool, even with the heaters going and it made his hand ache.

"Just now." She pushed back herself and stood. "We'll leave Valiant a note and head home." Nodding, he quickly scribed the note and grabbed his coat and scarf.

Bundled up, they headed out the main door, sucking in a breath as the cold wind slammed into them. He noticed Morgana headed for the sidewalk instead of the parking lot. "Need a lift?" He asked.

"No, I'm just heading down the road to meet up with Gwen for a drink. Night." She waved and walked on. Merlin waved and left, headed for home, warmth, Mordred and hopefully Arthur.

* * *

Morgana shivered as she continued to walk, head down and hands in her pocket as she shuffled her feet through the few inches of snow that had managed to survive the wind.

It was dark out, some of the street lamps were out. Eyeing the sidewalk ahead of her, she continued on, cautious of any movement. Noticing a dark alleyway ahead, she decided to cross the street and take the other sidewalk to the pub. Looking both ways, she crossed quickly.

It was eerily quiet, no cars out on the street and it made her nervous. She was about to phone Gwen and ask her to come pick her up when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Shadowed figures were down at the end of the alley she had just gone around.

She couldn't hear anything, but it looked like a woman and two men. Growling under her breath, she loosened her gun in its holster, crossing the street quickly and heading down the dimly lit alley.

She still couldn't hear them well, but she caught a few muffled curses from the men as the woman struggled. She was almost on them when something seemed odd about what was happening.

She stopped and stared and saw what it was. It was like some real life event on repeat, the same shot happening over and over again. She took a step back, casting about for anything else.

Something scuffed at the concrete ground and she turned. Three blocked her path, all wearing equally menacing smirks on their face. She pulled out her gun facing them, hands steady. "Get out of my way, or I _will_ shoot." She declared loudly. They just laughed.

She clicked off the safety, cocking the gun. She never got a chance to fire it. A hand snaked around her, covering her mouth with a cloth soaked in some weird smelling liquid. Struggling, she managed to turn her head, eyes looking up at her assailant as fog descended over her mind. Her eyes just widened in recognition, as her body slowly collapsed, the drug taking hold.

* * *

The phone going off woke both of them from a sound sleep. Arthur had come over earlier and had stayed the night and was now wrapped around Merlin's lean body as they slept.

Groping around blindly, Merlin managed to find his cell phone, flipping it open to look at the caller ID. Looking at it in confusion, he pressed the call button and answered. "What's up Gwen?" He asked sleepily, stifling a yawn behind his hand.

"I was wondering if you've seen Morgana." She asked, voice sounding anxious.

"Um…I saw her when we left the precinct. She told me she was meeting you in a bar down the road. Why?" He asked.

"She never showed up and her cell phone keeps going to voice mail. I tried to call her at home, but it's just the recording on her answering machine."

"What?" He demanded loudly, sitting up and dislodging Arthur's arm from around his waist.

"Merlin, what's up?" Arthur asked aloud, annoyed at being disturbed from his position.

"Gwen says Morgana never showed up at the bar last night and she can't get through to her cell phone." He explained patiently.

That had Arthur moving as he, too, jerked up. He snatched the phone out of Merlin's hand and ignoring his protest started questioning Gwen. "How long has it been since you were supposed to meet?"

"A few hours and she would have called if she couldn't make it. Do you think something has happened to her?" She asked fearfully over the phone line.

"I don't know. For now keep calling her and I'll get ahold of Uther and inform him of the situation. This may mean nothing and she just forgot to turn her phone on." He hung up after she admitted that that could just be the case.

"So, what now?" Merlin asked, taking his phone back.

"Get dressed while I call Uther. We're heading over to her place in a few minutes." They both crawled out of bed, ignoring the cold air and floor as they hurried to get ready.

* * *

Nothing. There was no sign of her, either in her top floor apartment or at the precinct. It was like somewhere between the time she had left Merlin and when Gwen tried calling her, she had disappeared.

They shivered in the darkened streets, tugging coats tighter around their bodies as they followed her path. So far nothing had been found this way either, no signs of struggle or worse…a frozen body.

They had paused for a minute under one of the few working street lamps and looked around. Dark storefronts lined the sidewalks and except for an alley further ahead, there was not many places to stage an ambush on a seasoned officer with a gun.

Deciding to continue and meet up with Gwen in front of the bar the two women were supposed to meet at, they started forward staying to the sidewalk in case any cars came through this late at night or should they say this early in the morning.

They were just passing by the alleyway when Merlin stopped, eyes boring into the shadows it held as he tried to see something not there. "What is it?" Arthur asked, coming up beside him to look down the gloomy passage.

"I'm…I'm not sure. I thought I felt something, but it's hard to tell." He took a step off the curb and Arthur grabbed his arm.

"What if it's a trap or something?" He asked, not letting go.

"There's no one there, at least no one living and if it was a magical trap, I would have felt it." He explained rationally and shook his hand off. He continued on cautiously, Arthur trailing behind with his hand on his gun.

The end of the alley was empty of anything human and except for rats and one rail thin street cat that glared at them from atop an empty dumpster, nothing else. Merlin had stopped and was now just standing there, eyes closed as his nostrils flared, like a scent hound on the tail of some magical trail.

"There was something here. I can sense it, but what it was for, I'm not sure. Something large, but it was crudely cobbled together. An amateur maybe. What about you, anything?" He asked, turning to look at Arthur who was prowling around the small area.

He didn't look up at first, eyes glued to the ground. Merlin watched him bend down to pick up a piece of cloth next to the dumpster. Lifting it up, he sniffed it slightly and jerked it away just as quickly. "Chloroform."

"This isn't good. I'll call Gwen and have her meet us here." He pulled out his phone and dialed her up as quickly as possible.

* * *

The precinct was quiet so early in the morning so everyone heard, quite clearly, Arthur cursing at the top of his lungs in his office. Merlin and Gwen had braved his wrath and gone in to try and calm the seething man down.

A team had been sent to the scene about an hour ago to scour the place for any clues as to who took the woman. That wasn't what he was mad about. Uther had kept him from staying there, and had ordered him to not become involved. Both he and Uther were not taking part of the case due to emotional compromise.

She was his sister and no matter how annoying she got, he was supposed to look out for her, protect her. He wasn't really mad at Uther, either. He understood the logic behind his orders and even his father was not taking part. He was mad at himself for not being there and at the person who had taken her. Right now he just wanted to ripe this person's head off and thrust it down their throat.

He continued to pace the room in the little space he had. His cursing eventually puttering out until he was just grinding his teeth with the occasional growl. Sighing, he walked over and sat down next to Merlin.

The brunette just placed a hand on his shoulder in silent comfort and squeezed: a message to him, that the brunette would keep him up to date on the case and stand by him through it.

Gwen sighed as Arthur finally relaxed slightly, his head dropping back on his chair's back. Gwen jumped as she seemed to realize something. "Where's Valiant?" She asked.

In all the confusion and haste, they had totally forgotten about the man, hadn't even called him to tell him what had happened. Looking down at his watch, Merlin frowned. "He's normally here by now. We always came in early to get an early start on things." Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed the man's number and waited.

No one picked up and it went straight to voicemail. Frowning, he hung up and called the man's hotel, supplying the man's name. He'd never called him at his hotel, but it didn't matter.

_"I'm sorry sir, but there is no one by that name checked into this hotel at the moment. Are you sure you have the right hotel?"_

"Yes, thank you anyways." He hung up, brow furrowed in concentration as he took this new piece of information in. Had the man found someplace cheaper to stay?

"What is it?" Gwen asked.

"The hotel said he's not checked in there. Perhaps he's found someplace cheaper to stay or is with a friend. A friend called him out last night to get a lift, maybe he's with them." Ignoring the other two, he called up secretary and asked for the number of the one who had called last night before he'd left. She gave it and he quickly typed it into the computer.

What it showed wasn't what he'd been expecting. The phone call had come from the payphone just outside the precinct. "I think Morgana isn't the only one gone." He finally said, looking up from the computer with a grim expression. "And I don't think they were the last ones."

* * *

Word of this seemed to spread quickly through the ranks and soon, Uther was calling the three of them into his office. They sat in front of him, eyes hard as they waited for him to get down to business.

"I'll get to the point. I'm assigning each of you a set of guards while you're working this case." Arthur stiffened beside him, but said nothing. "You are to take no risks, do you hear me? I will not have another officer disappearing on me." He turned to Merlin. "I also have another set of officers assigned to the child you took in for when he is at school."

Merlin nodded in thanks. "I think it would be easier if Arthur were to stay at my place. It will mean less officers keeping an eye on us and out there looking for Morgana and Valiant."

Uther thought this over and nodded. "I'll arrange it that way. We need to get this figured out quickly before they do something to either of them. Do not disappoint me." They nodded and left for their office.

Crammed back into Arthur and Merlin's office, they got to work. "Merlin, you're the only one left of you team. What did you find out?"

"There wasn't much _to_ find. The parents hadn't seen her since the week before she went missing, but they did talk to her the day she was taken. They said it was how they knew something was wrong when she didn't show up at her place."

"The place was clean, no trace of a struggle or any other nasty business going on inside." Arthur nodded briefly to his implication of no magic in the room. "There was one incidence. I was looking out her apartment window and saw someone watching the place. We assumed it was bugged as well, so we didn't go after the guy and I couldn't get a good look at the guy. No one appeared to follow us to the parent's place, but we weren't sure."

"Did you tell Uther this?" Gwen asked.

He nodded. "We put it in our daily report, but he said for now not to do anything about it unless it happened again. If it did, I never saw anyone, so we just let it lie for the time being while we went after other leads." He looked at them, seeking answers.

"Not much either. We got in contact with all our inside sources, but they couldn't help much. They _did_ say that there was a new source out there, but any of their connections wouldn't spill where it was coming from. So far, it's only here in Camelot, located in the lower town, where this new stuff keeps appearing. We think that's where their base of operation is at, but unless we can get someone to take us there, or find someone to tell us, we're at a dead end."

Merlin just gave a tired sigh. No leads were ever a good thing with something this big. "So let's get a time line here. This Nimueh Moore was first here in Camelot. She upped and left when things started to get hot, her associates were arrested, but nothing could be pinned on her. She then appears in Mercia where she sets up shop again. Deciding that things have cooled down here, she decided to come home. Except we have no accounting of her whereabouts from before Mercia and after she left Camelot. There can't be that many women out there who look like her. If we put out an alert to the other officers and our contacts to look out for women like her we may be able to narrow down where she goes and maybe her base."

Arthur stared at him for a moment before grinning. "You're not such an idiot after all Merlin. I'll get on it right now." He stood up and left at a fast walk, ignoring the glare Merlin sent his way.

"Is there really nothing else we can do?" Gwen asked aloud.

"For now. If we can get her comfort zone pinned down, we might be able to start working." _'I hope.'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

It was nearing ten at night of their second day under guard when Merlin noticed that they had no milk. He knew he would need it for the morning, what with how much cereal Arthur and Mordred went through.

"I'll be back in a few. We need milk." He told the two lumps on the couch as they watched some B-movie on TV. All he knew was that it had girls screaming and some ravenous monster chasing after them. That was all he wanted to know.

He threw on his coat and was soon head down the stairs and out into the freezing cold of a winter night in Camelot. He pulled it tighter around him as the wind picked up and he headed down the street to the all night convenience store a few blocks down the road.

It was dark out, but if he looked hard enough, he could see the dark car parked in a nearby side street that was their guard. So far they had seen nothing out of the ordinary, but it had only been two days since the other two had disappeared.

Walking faster, he made it to the store and stepped in with a grateful sigh as he found it to be heated inside. Quickly, he made his way over to the freezer section and the milks storage place.

* * *

"Is that…?" A female voice asked aloud

"Yes, that's Merlin. What is that idiot doing out this late? Is he looking to get kidnapped?" The two officers in the car grumbled, but continued to watch both the store he had just entered and his flat.

A few minutes went by before he exited, stopping to wrap his scarf tighter about his neck and face. "Well at least he's…" She didn't get to finish as tired squealed and a car pulled up in front of their car, boxing them in. "Shit." She started to get out.

Another set of tires squealed as another car came to a stop in front of the shocked brunette. His hesitation was all they needed to drag him in the car and take off, the second car following behind them.

The woman was swearing as her partner called in to the precinct. "Uther, what is it?" Their boss asked over the line.

"We have a problem." They had made it to the other side of the street, Merlin's carton of milk lying on the side of the road, spilling out as fast as it froze in the cold air, nothing but a puddle of white on the grey cement. "They got Merlin."

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Arthur yelled at the two officers in front of him, face red and hands clenched. "You were supposed to guard him not let him get kidnapped."

Finally the woman snapped. "There is no need to yell. There was nothing we could have done. This was planned. They knew his routine, and when he was going to leave."

That brought Arthur tirade to a halt. The idea that they had been in his flat, had probably bugged the place made him rethink. Mordred was tugging at his sleeve. "Not now."

"But it's important." He insisted, glaring up at the blonde.

"What?" He said, kneeling down to get eyelevel with him.

"Merlin's necklace."

"What about it?" He asked confused.

"It was after the incident where Gaius lived. He had two made, one for me and one for him. They have tracking chips in them in case something like that happened again. He was wearing it when he left and I doubt they would think to look at it."

"I'm going to kill that idiot when I find him. He should have told me about this. Good work." He turned back to the other two who were staring at him in shock. "Well, what are you waiting for? We have a way of finding their base now." They scrambled to get the equipment needed to track Merlin.

If any looked at the two left standing there, they would see a calm outlook, but none would see a small pale hand clenched in a tan one as they worried over the brunette.

* * *

Merlin. Merlin. "Merlin." He groaned and tried to turn over. He was just pulled back and the annoying voice just continued to shake his shoulder.

"Go away." He swatted at their hand.

"Merlin Emrys, if you do not wake up this instant, I swear I will pinch you so hard you'll feel it for months."

He opened one eyes slightly, looking up through the dim lighting to see a worried Morgana staring down at him. "'Gana?" He asked, still out of it. She nodded. "What happened?" His mind was on reserve power at the moment.

"You've been taken just like me." She informed him.

He slowly sat up, testing his equilibrium gingerly to see if he still had any. When he felt relatively okay, he turned to look at her. She was in the same outfit she had been taken in, though a nice bruise was forming over her cheekbone.

"Are you alright?" She nodded. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure. Somewhere well soundproofed. I can't hear anything that happening outside until they open the door." She stopped for a second. "Merlin, it was Valiant."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"It was Valiant. He was with them when they got me. He's been their informant for a while now apparently."

"Well not for the last few days. He's been put down as missing as well, so he can't get in without someone making a fuss, but still, this is bigger than I thought." He stared at nothing for a while. "Have they said anything about Arthur, or Mordred?"

She shook her head. "They were talking mainly about you and me mainly, though they did mention Mordred a few times. Apparently this woman, Nimueh is interested in us."

He felt a jolt of alarm go through him, but kept it in check as he went over this new piece of information. Interested in him and the other two. He remembered Morgana telling him a few months ago, about her dreams, how sometime she saw something that happened, or something similar to it happened. She put it off to coincidence, especially since it was very erratic, but he thought it might have more to do with magic. He was never sure on it.

Put the three of them together and it made since why someone went after them. Magic users, real ones, were few and far in-between nowadays. Who was this Nimueh woman anyways?

* * *

"We have it narrowed down to a ten block radius. It's in downtown Camelot, where many of the warehouses are. The radius also extends into the entertainment district. There are a few night clubs there, a good place to look for drug trafficking." The woman said.

"Good, then I want you to start narrowing that further, I'm going to go gather our people for this. It'll take some time for us to get a large enough force here. That should give you time to work. We need to hurry."

"Arthur, if we hurry, we might miss something. We need to be thorough with this, so for now just start gathering everyone and stop breathing down our necks." He nodded stiffly and left, Mordred attached to him and not letting go until Merlin was back.

* * *

A few hours later, someone came in and left some food for them. He discreetly scanned it for any drugs or poisons. It was laced with some sort of drug and he shook his head when Morgana went to take some of it. "Why?"

"There might be something in it, getting you addicted if you're not careful or even killing you. We can't have that." She nodded grimly and shoved it away.

An hour later they came back. The woman didn't even look up as she collected the still uneaten food. She shut the door and left them in the silence of the soundproofed room.

They remained like that for a while, neither moving as they tried to think on empty stomachs. Merlin knew he was correct about the magic when he came up short against a barrier that encircled the room. It was good; so far he hadn't found any way around it.

Fingering his necklace, he hoped he wouldn't have to blast through it. He might need his magic for later. It was times like these that he missed Arthur. The blonde would have found a way out or given him some idea about how to break through the _damn_ shield.

Breathing deeply, he shifted into a more comfortable position and went deeper into his pool of magic, filling himself up, letting it seep out like the water it resembled, searching for the tiniest crack in the shield. Nothing could keep water out, it always found a way and he would be just that.

* * *

"Well?" He asked her. She shook her head. "What's the problem?"

"I'm not sure. There's something blocking it from giving his exact location. We'll just have to go down there and find them ourselves." She looked uncomfortable saying this. And she should, for if they picked the wrong building, Morgana, Merlin, and Valiant might be killed before they ever found them.

"Give me a few minutes to think over this." He walked out, Mordred still holding his hand as he went to his office and shut the door. Sitting down, he looked at the pale druid. "Do you think you would be able to sense him if you were close enough?" He asked the child.

Mordred, for all his worrying, had remained surprisingly calm. His pale rounded face and bright blue eyes set in a determined look. He nodded. "If he's used any magic, I can find it."

"I guess that's all we can hope for. When we get there, you are to remain in the car with one of the other officers, got it? I don't want you going missing on top of everything else." The brunette nodded. "Good. Let's go get them then."

An hour and still nothing. His magic was pushing, seeking, burrowing, to find the smallest hole to wiggle through. He was sweating now and he could feel Morgana's curious gaze on him. He knew she could feel it, but didn't know what it was she felt. It must have felt like some great pressure pressing in on her.

A flash of triumph washed through him, making him mentally turn to see what had happened. The smallest drop of magic had gotten through and now hovered on the other side of the barrier.

_'Go. Seek the ones who can help me.'_ He impressed an image of Arthur and Mordred to the magic, nearly winding himself to perform the magic with the barrier between him and his salvation. But it finally went through, the magic streaking off in search of the two.

Not a second too soon, for as it disappeared from his range of mental vision, the door opened. He opened his eyes to see a woman standing in the doorway. She was as pale as the two inside, with flat blue eyes and crimson lips that smiled cruelly at them. "Very good, Emrys, but it still isn't enough."

"It is enough for me." He replied. He watched her eyes widen fractionally and then close. He could feel her checking her shields, for this woman was a sorceress and a powerful one, her own magic sliding along his expanded magic. "You!" She accused as she found the small pinprick in her barriers. She glared down at him, but still shrugged. "It is of no consequence."

She snapped her fingers and a man came up behind her. It was Valiant, a sneer gracing his features as he stared down at the two on the floor. He could see someone else behind him, but he was unknown to either of them. "Grab them."

The two came in with guns at the ready. Valiant grabbed Merlin by the arm, twisting it up behind him as he shoved and steered him from the room, Morgana and the second man coming up behind them.

They stepped out into a dimly lit hallway. It was lined with doors similar to their own. The floor, carpeted with thick and soft flooring, muffled their steps as they were led towards a different part of the building they were in.

It was eerily quiet, the entire building sound proofed it seemed like. They passed by a door with a circular window in it. He could just make out hoards of people, lights flashing as they drank, and danced to hard pumping music that he couldn't hear, but could feel.

"A club, this is your hiding place?" He asked the woman.

"And why not. Few ever look to see what goes on behind closed door. A selective list keeps the riffraff and police out. You can sell whatever you want, from drugs to women…and men and they don't care." Her lips curved into a false attempt at a smile as they came to another set of doors.

These had no window and were locked and barred. A code keyed in. _'Technology can be so useful.'_ He ignored her comment as they were pushed through into another hall.

This one was short, leading apparently to a small walled off area behind the club, for bright light met their eyes as they stepped through the last door.

He could sense the spells placed all around this area. Spells for silence and concealing. None but the strongest would even know this area was here, let alone hear anything from it.

There was a second door, leading to another room, but he couldn't see in it since it had no window. He _could_ see a large broadsword leaning up against the wall, red coating its edges in a vulgar display of it and the room's intent.

He had little time to see this as he was pushed forward into the center of the courtyard where a low metal stake was embedded into the ground. He could see chains connected to it, shackles at their ends.

Neither could put up much of a fuss as the metal closed around skin to hold them there. What he wasn't expecting, was for the woman herself, he assumed she was Nimueh by the power she wielded, came forward, a small case in hand to kneel by him.

Pulling out a siring full of some liquid, she grasped his arm in a steel vice, pulling it out to expose the crook of his arm. "Now this won't hurt a bit." She said as she slowly sank the needle into flesh.

He could feel it go into effect the moment it entered his system. Wherever it touched, it relaxed to the point of no control. When it touched his magic, it forced it away until he couldn't seem to grasp it, no matter what he tried.

He was soon lying on the ground, body limp as he watched all from his limited view. "What did you do to him?" Morgana demanded in a voice full of worry.

"A simple relaxant, with the added benefit of keeping him from using any more of his tricks. Now, what to do with you two?" She mused, eyeing the two brunettes.

* * *

They had just gotten into the car, Mordred and Arthur in the back with Gwen and another officer in the front, when Mordred jerked his head up. Arthur watched as his hands reached up and grabbed at air, or he thought it was air, except for the look of surprise on the Druid's face.

"What is it?" He asked quietly.

"Merlin. He sent his magic as a guide." He explained just as softly.

"Which way?" He asked, not even questioning him as he waited I tense anticipation.

"Straight ahead for now." He said. Arthur nodded, leaning forward to direct Gwen on the route.

* * *

Merlin wanted to scream in frustration as his magic eluded him for the third time in a row. He could feel it, there, just out of reach, but every time he tried to grasp it, use it, it slipped away like the water he compared it to.

There was one benefit though to his magic that Nimueh had underestimated. While he couldn't control his magic, it still had a mind of its own. At the moment, it was slowly burning away at the drug in his system, purifying his blood and body.

He could feel his fingers and toes by now and the feeling was slowly creeping up his body, but he hoped it would go faster since he had no idea what was about to happen.

For the moment, they had been left alone, only Valiant in the courtyard to keep an eye on them while she had gone off to deal with something. Valiant was seated on a low stool, whet stone in hand as he sharpened his blade, the hiss of stone on steel grating on the ears.

Cautiously, keeping Valiant in the corner of his eye, he flexed a finger, testing the appendage. It moved, if sluggishly. Smiling mentally with grim satisfaction, he got to work on the rest of his fingers and toes.

"Why are you doing this?" Morgana asked the man. Merlin could have kissed her if he could move. With his attention turned onto her, he was free to keep going. The hissing stopped as Valiant looked at her.

"Why not? I certainly get paid better than what I get in Mercia." He said simply, shrugging.

"Did Mercia really send you?"

He grinned at her. "No, they sent someone else. It was a simple matter of taking his place while he was…_indisposed_. They have no idea that I took his place since I'm supposed to be undercover elsewhere." He smirked again. "He should surface eventually."

Merlin listened to this the whole time he worked at his body. So far his hands and feet were free as his magic continued up to his knees and elbows. He still couldn't reach for his magic, but it seemed to be moving slightly faster.

The area went quiet again. He continued to work, freeing up his legs and arms nearly all the way, though they were still sluggish to his demands. He was cut short though when the door opened Nimueh walked out. He froze, letting his body relax back into its original position.

"Valiant, you know what to do." She nodded to him and he grinned. Standing he came to stand over Merlin's prone form. Keeping himself relaxed, he let the man unchain his arms and hoist him over his shoulder.

"What are you doing with him?" Morgana demanded.

"Unfortunately, he is too much trouble to keep, even sedated. He would only get in my way." She turned and left again, ignoring Morgana's outraged protests.

Valiant carried him to the other door. When he opened it, Merlin gaged and almost heaved up what little was left in his stomach. The room stank of death. Blood coated the walls and pooled on the floor. There was no cooling system inside and the heat of such an enclosed space was helping the mess decompose faster.

He was thrown to the floor, barely missing rolling into a puddle of blood and tissue. Still he kept himself still as Valiant walked out and grabbed his broadsword from where he had set it down.

The door closed with an ominous snap, enclosing them in darkness momentarily as it cut off the light from outside. Valiant walked over to the wall and flicked a switch; bring light to the room from a single florescent bulb in the ceiling. It gave the blood a bluish white cast as it reflected off the liquid.

Coming over, he used his boot to turn Merlin over onto his back. "This is going to be fun." He raised the blade over his head.

Fear sparked inside him, adrenalin surging through his system, burning away enough of the drug to let him move again. He rolled away, the blade coming down just where his neck had been.

Valiant growled, chasing after him. He reached desperately for his magic, fueled by fear. It eluded him and he scrambled out of the way of the sword again. He wasn't fast enough as it sank into flesh on top of his shoulder, sinking in slightly, drawing a cry of pain from his throat. That seemed to be just the thing he need to burn off the rest of the drug.

Pain mixed with fear, creating a heady cocktail. It was enough to fuel him forward and grasp hold of his magic. He just flung it at the man, telling it to stop him any way possible. It did that and more, freezing him in his tracks. The blade fell from numb fingers and hovered in the air momentarily before coming down to sink into flesh point first.

Valiant fell over, his own blade protruding from his chest, dead nearly instantly as his magic stopped his heart. He couldn't help it, his gorge rising and he was sick over the floor, stomach acid burning his throat as it came up. This had been the first time he'd let his magic loose to kill a man. Even with Edwin, he'd been in control and it hadn't been this messy.

Clutching at his carved shoulder, he stumbled clumsily to his feet. It appeared not all the drug was gone, since he couldn't grasp his magic as he tried to open the door with it. He tried to open it by hand but it was either locked or he was too weak to open it up. He gave a gasp as he sat back down in the cleanest corner he could find.

* * *

"There." Mordred pointed discreetly at the building they were parked near. It was a club called 'The Slain Dragon.' It was a demure building, the outside painted in sedate colors. The only clue to what it was, was the line outside it and the bouncer in front.

"Figures." He spoke into the radio, sending out the information. Soon the rest had gathered, ready to charge the building. "You know what to do, Mordred. Stay with Gwen." He nodded.

Arthur got out and walked over to those gathered in a side street. The area around the club was deserted except for the clubbers. Most of the off duty officers had shown up and S.W.A.T. (A/N: Couldn't think of anything else to call them) had shown up as well.

"We all know the plan. Our goal is to get in and find Merlin, Morgana, and Valiant. Clear out the clubbers and find Nimueh if you can." They all nodded. His phone went off and he answered it.

"Pendragon."

"We appear to be mistaken." Uther's voice said over the phone, anger barely controlled.

"What's happened?" He demanded.

"The Mercian commissioner just called. They pulled the body of the officer they had allegedly sent over to help with the case out of the Galen river."

"What about Valiant?" Arthur asked, gears turning as he thought this over.

"He one of theirs, but he was never assigned to the case. He's supposed to be undercover in Northumbria right now. We may have a leak. Tell them to arrest Valiant when they find him."

"Alright. I'll inform them." He hung up. "Change of plans. It appears we have a leak. Any who find Valiant are to arrest him on sight." They all nodded.

Slowly, they got into position in a loose sphere around the place. They waited as one of the officers, Officer Gawain, headed for the line flashing his badge at the doorman. The line, seeing this, split, people streaming away from the officer and any implication to the club.

As the last one disappeared that was their signal. They moved out, surrounding the place. The doorman, seeing this, ran inside, pushing Gawain aside in his rush to escape or inform.

Arthur ran with them, quickly getting inside. Most went to the task of clearing out the club, a few staying with him as he went searching for his step-sister and partner. A door opened into the back of the club, where the V.I.P. could go for additional services. More officers followed and stayed behind to clear out the brothel that had been created in the back.

They had found the drug ring and kidnappers, all in one place. Still he kept on, sure of his path. More doors passed by until he came to the halls end. A large door blocked his path. He could see no handle or lock, but next to it was a small keypad, the numbers lit up in the dim hall.

He motioned and another officer stepped forward. They had come prepared for just such an occasion. Percival set to work, his touch with computers and technology almost like magic.

A few minutes went by before the keypad gave a beep and the door opened on silent hinges. Drawing his gun, he stepped forward into the second hall. It was just as dim, but he could make out a second door. This one was a regular door.

He signaled for the people with him to split up and take the door from two sides. Creeping forward he stood at the door and listened. He couldn't hear anything, but that didn't mean anything when the whole building appeared to be sound proofed.

He reached for the door and opened it an inch, light streaming in and blinding his night vision slightly. As his eyes adjusted he looked out. The door opened on what appeared to be a courtyard. Light shone brightly above, illuminating all in the enclosed area.

He stiffened as he saw Morgana chained to a post in the center. There was a second set of chains, but they were empty. Where was Merlin? He saw no one else so he opened the door quietly, easing out.

He must have made some sound for Morgana turned to look, eyes going wide as she saw who had entered. He held up a finger to his lips. He mouthed to her, 'Where's Merlin?'

She pointed to the other side at a door. Nodding, he motioned for the others to follow and get Morgana free. He walked over to the door and listened. All was quiet. He tried the handle and found it resistant but not locked.

A little force and it opened, letting the smell out. He nearly puked, but held himself in check as he opened it all the way. There was Valiant on the floor, a large sword protruding from his chest as a look of surprise remained frozen on his face.

Looking to the left, he saw Merlin. He was leaning against the wall, looking paler than usual. Putting the gun away, he strode over to his partner. Merlin barely stirred but he saw the rise and fall of his chest and his eyes opened at least and looked at him.

"You alright?" He asked, ignoring the gore around him and kneeling down next to him to look him over. There was a large gash on his shoulder, but it was bleeding sluggishly. A barely there nodded was his answer. "Alright, hang on and we'll get some medics here to look at you." He pulled out his phone, shrugging out of his jacket to cover up the man.

They came a few minutes later, burdened down with a stretcher and their kits. Some maneuvering had Merlin out of the room and on the stretcher as they looked over him.

* * *

He could hear the medics above him talking, but he was too tired to comprehend what they said. A prick of pain in his arm was felt but ignored as a numbness spread from the point.

He was getting sleepy, barely even hearing Morgana yell at them to stop, to not put whatever it was in him too late. Was that Arthur's voice, he should try and listen to him, but it was hard. He just wanted to sleep, to seek the soft folds of darkness.

He felt light, like he was floating a few inches above his body. His chest felt tight, but it was a distant feeling, one easily ignored as he slowly sank deeper into the blackness.

* * *

"What's happening?" He demanded, watching as his partner's chest rose and fell in quicker motions, laboring to draw in breath.

"The pain killer must be reacting to the relaxant. He's going into respiratory distress. Quick, we need to keep him breathing." Arthur tensed as they got to work, a tube sliding down his windpipe to keep his airway open and a bag supplying oxygen.

He followed them as they wheeled the stretcher to the waiting ambulance, getting him inside. He climbed in, quickly handing command over to Gawain before they shut the door and took off.

They'd already cut his shirt open, a heart monitor attached by wires. He gripped desperately at his limp and cool fingers, willing him to wake up. "Stay with me, Merlin. You are not allowed to die on me." His heart gave a start as the heart monitor missed a beat, then another. A long drawn out beep seemed to spell doom. The medics shoved him out of the way. "Merlin. Merlin!"

* * *

The first thing he noticed was that he was on something soft and that he was warm. The fog was slowly lifting on his mind and he could hear something beeping nearby.

Struggling, he opened his eyes a crack, a dim light filtering through his lashes. Slowly, he pressed on, opening them even more until he could see the ceiling above him. Turning, he saw that the beeping noise was coming from a machine to his left, wires sprouting from it to stop at his chest.

He turned to look to the right and stopped. Arthur sat in a padded chair, leant forward with his head pillowed on his arms atop the bed. One of Merlin's hands was grasped in a tight hold.

Smiling at him, he curled his fingers around his, stroking the back of his hand as the blonde slept. Deciding that he'd rather talk to him then stare, he tugged gently at his hand, calling softly. "Arthur." His voice was hoarse.

"Hmm." He stirred. Merlin tugged again. "What?" He asked, annoyed at being woken.

"Arthur."

The blonde blinked at him owlishly, seeming blindsided. "Merlin?" His voice was a whisper, shocked at what he saw. The brunette nodded. Arthur surged up from his seat, pulling the paler man forward into his arms.

Merlin just clutched at him, ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he held a shaking Arthur. Frantic hands fumbled at his face, tilting him up for a desperate kiss. He just let it happen, tears pricking his eyes as Arthur reassured himself of Merlin's life.

He pulled back and then was shaking him gently. "Are you an idiot?" He growled lowly. "What were you thinking, going off alone? Do you have any idea what you put me and Mordred and Gwen through? I should kill you right now, to save us the trouble." His hands were shaking, but his touch gentle as he stroked his arms.

"I'm sorry. I just…I needed to do it. I knew you would find me, but we needed a way to find Nimueh's base. Wait…Nimueh, what happened to her? Did you catch her?" He asked franticly.

Arthur shook his head no. "She was gone by the time we got there. We found Valiant though, dead by his own sword. We got most of her organization, but some got away. I was more concerned with getting to you and Morgana. And before you ask, yes she's fine. She got let out a few days earlier." Merlin sagged in relief.

"How long have I been out?" He asked.

"About four days. I…I nearly thought I'd lost you in the ambulance. You…"He swallowed. "Your heart stopped for about a minute. Oh, god, I thought I'd lost you." He clutched him tighter.

"Shh, Arthur. I won't leave. Alright, I'm right here." He stroked at messy blonde locks as Arthur held him.

There was a knock at the door and they pulled apart to look at it. Finally Arthur called out, "Come in." Morgana opened the door, Gwen and Mordred behind her.

They crowded in when they saw he was awake, Mordred even climbed up onto the bed to hug at Merlin. "I'm sorry." He told the Druid softly, holding him as he shook.

* * *

It was a few days before he was allowed to leave the hospital, but he was glad when he arrived back at his flat, Arthur in front of him as he led the way. He was tired and just wanted to lie in his own bed.

Arthur seemed to have caught on to this for he steered him into the bedroom. He helped Merlin out of his jacket and cloths, his arm bound up in a sling while his shoulder healed. The doctors had said it would take a few weeks at minimum to heal completely.

He lay down, Arthur getting in after him, curled up around him. He fell asleep with Arthur holding him close, the feeling of safety seeping from the blonde, easing the brunette's sleep.

Case 3. End.

* * *

**[A/N]: I will be participating in NaNoWriMo all of November so this will be the last update for awhile. ~Reiya**


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